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SMITHSONIAH  INSTITUTION 

BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 

BULLETIN  64 

) 

THE  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  SOUTHERN  YUCATAN 
AND  NORTHERN  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


BY 


THOMAS  W.  F.  GANN 


WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE 

1018 


i  vu%a|  JeuV^fux^t 


LETTER  OF  TRANSMITTAL 


Washington,  D.  C,  November  4,  1916. 
Sir:  I  have  tho  honor  to  transmit  herewith  tho  manuscript  of  a 
memoir  entitled  "Tho  Maya  Indians  of  Southern  Yucatan  and 
Northern  British  Honduras,"  by  Thomas  W.  F.  Gann,  and  to  recom- 
mend its  publication  as  a  bulletin  of  tho  Buroau  of  American 
Ethnology. 

Very  respectfully, 

F.  W.  Hodge, 
Ethnologist-in-  Charge. 
Hon.  Charles  D.  Walcott, 

Secretary,  Smithsonian  Institution. 

■    3 


CONTENTS 


Part  1.  Customs,  Ceremonies,  and  Mode  op  Life 

Page 

Introduction 13 

Habitat 14 

Personal  characteristics 15 

Dress 18 

Industrial  activities 20 

Agriculture 20 

Procuring  food ;  cooking 21 

Hunting 23 

Fishing 25 

Construction  of  houses  and  furniture 26 

Pottery  making 28 

Boat  building 28 

Spinning  and  weaving 29 

Minor  industries 30 

Tobacco  curing 30 

Basket  and  mat  weaving 30 

Social  characteristics 32 

Villages 32 

Marriage  and  children 32 

Drunkenness 34 

Chiefs • 35 

Diseases  and  medicines 36 

Games 39 

Religion 40 

Part  2.  Mound  Excavation  in  the  Eastern  Maya  Area 

Introduction 49 

<  !lassincation  of  the  mounds 49 

Ancient  inhabitants  of  the  region 51 

Physical  appearance 51 

1  )ress 52 

Weapons 52 

Houses 53 

Arts 53 

Musical  instruments 54 

Food 55 

Spinning  and  weaving 55 

( lames 5(5 

Religion 56 

( 'hronology 58 

Description  of  mounds 59 

Mound  No.  1 59 

Mound  No.  2 63 

Mound  No.  3 65 

Mound  No.  4 67 

Mound  No.  5 70 

5 


6  CONTENTS 

Description  of  mounds — Continued.  Page 

Mound  No.  5  A 72 

Mound  No.  6 74 

Mound  No.  6  A 78 

Mound  No.  7 79 

Mound  No.  8 80 

Mound  No.  9 83 

Mound  No.  10 86 

Mound  No.  11 90 

Mound  No.  12 92 

Mound  No   13 .' 99 

Mound  No.  14 99 

Mound  No.  15 103 

Mound  No.  16 105 

Mound  No.  17 109 

Mound  No.  18 Ill 

Mound  No.  19 112 

Mound  No.  20 112 

Mound  No.  21 114 

Mound  No.  22 115 

Mound  No.  23 116 

Mound  No .  24 118 

Mound  No.  25 120 

Mound  No.  26 •. 123 

Mound  No.  27 124 

Mound  No.  28 1 24 

Mound  No.  29 125 

Mound  No.  30 125 

Mound  No.  31 128 

Mound  No.  32 129 

Mound  No.  33 130 

Mound  No.  34 132 

Mound  No.  35 133 

Mound  No.  36 134 

Mound  No.  37 134 

Mound  No.  38 134 

Mound  No.  39 135 

Mound  No.  40 136 

Mound  No.  41 137 

Two  painted  stucco  faces  from  Uxmal 140 

Authorities  cited 143 

Index 145 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


plates  Page 

1.  Group  of  Santa  Cruz  Indians 18 

2.  Maya  girls  fishing 26 

3.  Fish  drying  on  one  of  the  rays  off  the  coast  of  Yucatan 26 

4.  Maya  Indian  houses,    a.  Leaf-thatched  house,     o.  Indian  house  on  Rio 

Hondo 26 

5.  Maya  woman,  105  years  old,  spinning  cotton 29 

6.  Maya  loom 29 

7.  Sketch  map  of  British  Honduras,  with  adjacent  parts  of  Yucatan  and  Guate- 

mala, indicating  the  positions  of  mounds  excavated 59 

8.  Figurines  of  warriors  from  Mound  No.  1 60 

9.  Figurines  from  Mound  No.  1 60 

10.  a.  Section  through  earthwork  inclosing  circular  space,  Santa  Rita.     b.  Sec- 

tion of  wall  through  Santa  Rita 70 

11.  Egg-shaped  vase  from  Mound  No.  5 70 

12.  Metatcs  and  brazos  from  Mound  No.  6 75 

13.  a.  Small  pottery  seal.     b.  Bowl  in  which  skull  was  found,    c.  Skull 75 

14.  Skull  and  bones  from  Mound  No.  8 80 

15.  Stone  objects  from  Mound  No.  10 88 

16.  a.  Model  of  jadeite  bivalve  shell,   b.  Light-green  jadeite  mask,  c.  Ax  head, 

or  celt.     d.  Terra-cot  ta  cylinder 91 

17.  Painted  basin  and  cover  from  Mound  No.  16 105 

18.  Pottery  from  Mound  No.  1(5 107 

19.  a.  Decoration  on  vase  shown  in  figure  60.     6.  Decoration  of  vessel  from 

Mound  No.  17 110 

20.  Incense  burner  from  Mound  No.  24 119 

21.  a.  Small  vase  decorated  with  human  head.     b.  Human  bones  from  Mound 

No.  29 125 

22.  Painted  clay  figurine  from  Mound  No.  33 131 

2:5.  Pottery  vase  from  Yalloch,  Guatemala 142 

24.  Pottery  vase  from  Yalloch,  Guatemala 142 

25.  Pottery  vase  from  Yalloch,  Guatemala 142 

2d.  Pottery  cylinder  from  Yalloch,  Guatemala 142 

27.  Pottery  cylinder  from  Yalloch,  (iuatemala 142 

28.  Pottery  cylinder  from  Yalloch,  (iuatemala 142 

TEXT   FIGURES 

.1.  Map  showing  Yucatan.  Campeche,  British  Honduras,  and  part  ;>f  Guatemala.  14 

2.  Gold  earrings  made  and  worn  by  the  Santa  Cruz  Indians 19 

3.  Cross  of  tancasche  bark  worn  by  children '. 1!> 

4.  Powder  horn  and  measure  of  bamboo  used  by  the  Indians 2:\ 

5.  Watertight  box  for  caps,  matches,  or  tinder,  with  corncob  stopper 23 

6.  Whistle  for  attracting  deer  by  imitating  tlicir  call 24 

7 


ILLTJSTHATIOffS 


7.  Indian  carrying  load  of  bejuco,  a  liana  used  as  rope  in  house  building 26 

8.  Domestic  altar 27 

9.  Stonelike  substance  used  to  prevent  fingers  from  sticking  while  spinning. .  29 

10.  Calabash  with  liana  base  used  in  spinning 30 

11.  Chichanha  Indian  priest  in  front  of  altar  at  Cha  chac  ceremony 43 

12.  Priest  tracing  cross  on  cake  and  filling  it  in  with  sikil. 44 

13.  Sacrificing  a  turkey  at  the  Cha  chac  ceremony 45 

14.  Plan  of  Santa  Rita  mounds 59 

15.  Figurine  from  Mound  No.  1 60 

16.  Figurines  from  Mound  No.  1 61 

17.  Unpainted  object  from  Mound  No.  1 62 

18.  Clay  alligator  found  in  Mound  No.  2 64 

19.  Objects  from  Mound  No.  4 68 

20.  Pottery  vessels  from  Mound  No.  4 69 

21.  Objects  found  in  Mound  No.  5 71 

22.  Diagram  of  Mound  No.  6 74 

23.  Diagram  of  trenches  in  Mound  No.  6 76 

24.  Bowls,  vases,  and  dishes  found  in  Mound  No.  6 77 

25.  a.  Skull,     b.  Limestone  foundation,     c.  Excavation,     d.  Grooved  flag  in 

situ.     e.  Projecting  lip 78 

26.  Circular  openings  leading  into  natural  cavity ; 80 

27.  Ground  plan  of  chultun 82 

28.  Ground  plan  of  Mound  No.  9 .     84 

29.  Wall  construction  of  Mound  No.  9 84 

30.  Details  of  Mound  No.  9 85 

31.  Obsidian  object  and  pottery  vase  from  Mound  No.  10 87 

32.  Obsidian  arrowhead  from  Mound  No.  10 89 

33.  Flint  object  from  Mound  No.  10 89 

34.  Obsidian  object  from  Mound  No.  10 90 

35.  Inscription  on  mask,  plate  16,  b 91 

36.  Inscription  on  ax  head,  plate  16,  c 92 

37.  Flint  spearheads 94 

38.  Flint  objects 94 

39.  Devices  scratched  on  stucco  in  aboriginal  building 95 

40.  Eccentrically  shaped  implements  found  at  summit  of  mound 96 

41 .  Flint  object  found  at  base  of  stela 96 

42.  Flint  object  found  at  base  of  stela 96 

43.  Flints  found  in  ruins  at  Naranjo • 97 

44.  Objects  from  Benque  Viejo 98 

45.  Obsidian  objects  found  in  a  mound  near  Benque  Viejo 99 

46.  Flint  object  from  Seven  Hills 100 

47.  Horseshoe-shaped  flint  object  found  near  San  Antonio 100 

48.  Figure  from  River  Thames,  near  London 101 

49.  Flint  objects  from  Tennessee 102 

50.  Flint  objects  from  Italy 103 

51.  Small  cup-shaped  vase  from  Mound  No.  15 104 

52.  Objects  from  Mound  No.  15 104 

53.  Conventionalized  representation  of  bird  on  vessel  shown  in  plate  17 106 

54.  Decoration  on  vessel  shown  in  plate  17 106 

55.  Perforated  beads  found  in  Mound  No.  16 107 

56.  Jadeite  beads  found  in  Mound  No.  16 107 

57.  a.  Circular  shell  disks  from  Mound  No.  16.     b.  Greenstone  ear  plugs  from 

Mound  No.  17 108 

58.  Obsidian  disk  inserted  in  tooth  of  skeleton  found  in  Mound  No.  17 109 


Page 

59.  Bird  carrying  a  fish  outlined  on  shallow  plaque  found  in  Mound  No.  17  . . .  110 

60.  Cylindrical  pottery  vase  found  in  Mound  No.  17 110 

61 .  Larger  pottery  vase  found  in  Mound  No.  17 Ill 

62.  Coiled  plumed  serpent  painted  on  plaque  found  in  Mound  No.  17 Ill 

63.  Pottery  vase  found  in  Mound  No.  18 112 

64.  Glyph  outlined  on  outer  surface  of  rim  of  vase  shown  in  figure  63 112 

65.  Torso,  head,  and  headdress  from  Mound  No.  20 113 

66.  Fragment  of  pillar  found  in  Mound  No.  20 113 

67.  Another  view  of  incense  burner  shown  in  plate  20 119 

68.  Incense  burner  decorated  with  crude  clay  figurine  from  Mound  No.  25. . . .  120 

69.  Crude  clay  figurine  found  in  Mound  No.  25 121 

70.  Crude  clay  figurine  found  in  Mound  No.  25 122 

71.  Small  pottery  vases  found  in  Mound  No.  26 123 

72.  Red  pottery  vase  found  in  Mound  No.  27 124 

73.  Pottery  vessels  found  in  Mound  No.  31 '. 128 

74.  Chocolate  pot  found  in  Mound  No.  31 128 

75.  Pottery  vessels  found  in  Mound  No.  32 129 

76.  Head  cut  from  limestone  found  in  Mound  No.  32 130 

77.  Greenstone  mask  found  in  Mound  No.  32 130 

78.  Soapstone  lamp  found  in  Mound  No.  33 131 

79.  Rough  pottery  vessel  found  in  Mound  No.  33 132 

80.  Objects  found  in  Mound  No.  34 132 

81.  Figure  in  diving  position  on  small  vase 133 

82.  Design  incised  on  femur  of  deer  found  in  Mound  No.  39 135 

83.  Copper  object  found  in  Mound  No.  39 136 

84.  Ruins  found  in  Mound  No.  40 137 


KEY  TO  PRONUNCIATION  OF  MAYA  WORDS 

Vowels  and  consonants  are  pronounced  as  in  Spanish,  with  the 
following  exceptions : 

fc h  explosive 

K ordinary  palatal  k 

X ah  as  in  shut 

T§ ch  explosive 

0 ts 

Ai like  i  in  confide 

tt I  explosive 

11 


THE  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  SOUTHERN  YUCATAN  AND 
NORTHERN  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


By  Thomas  W.  F.  Gann 


PART  1.  CUSTOMS,  CEREMONIES,  AND  MODE  OF  LIFE 


INTRODUCTION 

The  southern  and  eastern  parts  of  Yucatan,  from  Tuluum  in  the 
north  to  the  Rio  Hondo  in  the  south,  are  occupied  to-day  by  two 
tribes  of  Maya  Indians,  the  Santa  Cruz  and  Icaiche  or  Chichanha. 
Thft  number  of  Santa  Cruz  was  estimated  by  Sapper  in  1895  at  about 
8,000  to  10,000,  but  at  the  present  day  has  probably  been  reduced 
to  about  5,000.  The  Icaiche,  the  number  of  whom  he  estimated  at 
500,  and  is  given  by  the  Guia  de  Yucatan  in  1900  as  803,  now  com- 
prise not  more  than  200.  This  decrease  is  due  to  the  policy  of 
extermination  carried  out  among  the  Santa  Cruz  for  years  by  the 
Mexican  Government,  and  the  consequent  emigration  of  many  of 
the  Indians  to  British  Honduras,  Guatemala,  and  northern  Yucatan. 
The  northern  and  western  parts  of  British  Honduras  contain  between 
5,000  and  6,000  Indians;  those  in  the  north  are  partly  indigenous 
and  partly  immigrants  drawn  from  Yucatecan  tribes  who  have  left 
their  homes  after  various  political  disturbances,  especially  after  the 
occupancy  of  their  towns  of  Bacalar  and  Santa  Cruz  by  the  Mexican 
Government.  The  Indians  of  the  western  part  of  the  colony  are 
also  partly  indigenous,  but  for  the  greater  part  Itzas,  who  have  come 
in  from  Pet  en  in  Guatemala. 

The  objects  shown  in  figures  16,  17,  18,  19,  21,  31,  35,  36,  47, 
51,  52,  55,  56,  57,  59,  62,  63,  64,  65,  69,  70,  76,  and  77,  and  in  plates 
8,  11,  12,  13,  14,  15,  16,  17,  18a,  and  19  are  in  the  Liverpool  Museum; 
those  shown  in  figures  15,  40,  and  41  and  in  plate  9  are  in  the  British 
Museum;  those  shown  in  figure  45  and  in  plates  23,  24,  25,  26,  27, 
and  28  are  in  the  Bristol  Museum;  and  those  shown  in  figures  67 
and  08  and  in  plates  20,  21 ,  and  22  are  in  the  Museum  of  the  American 
Indian,  Heye  Foundation. 

13 


HABITAT 


The  northern  part  of  British  Honduras,  between  the  Rio  Hondo 
and  the  Rio  Nuevo,  consists  of  an  almost  level  plain,  having  an  area 
of  nearly  1,000  square  miles.  The  soil  is  a  vegetal  humus,  varying 
from  a  few  inches  to  several  feet  in  depth,  the  average  depth  being 
about  2  feet;  beneath  this  is  a  stratum  of  marly  limestone,  out- 
crops of  which  are  found  in  many  places.  The  southern  part  of 
Yucatan,  which,  unlike  the  northern  part,  is  comparatively  well 
watered,  is  also  flat,  though  a  few  small  hills  are  found  along  the 
northern  bank  of  the  Rio  Hondo,  commencing  about  50  miles  from 

its  mouth  (fig.  1).  Most 
of  the  land  along  the  rivers 
is  swampy,  producing  only 
reeds,  coarse  grasses,  and 
mangrove  trees.  Beyond 
the  swamp  country  are 
found  "cuhun  ridges/' 
consisting  of  river  val- 
leys or  depressions  in  the 
surface  which  have  be- 
come filled  with  alluvium 
brought  down  by  the 
rivers  from  the  interior, 
forming  an  exceedingly 
rich  soil  suitable  for  the 
cultivation  of  maize  and 
nearly  every  tropical  prod- 
uct. It  is  upon  these 
"  cuhun  ridges  "  that  most 
of  the  mounds  and  other 
relics  of  the  ancient  in- 
habitants are  found  and  that  nearly  all  the  villages  of  the  modern 
Indians  are  built.  Large  tracts  of  what  is  known  as  "pine  ridge" 
are  scattered  throughout  this  area;  these  are  level  or  slightly  undu- 
lating plains  covered  with  gravel  and  coarse  sand — exceedingly  poor 
soil,  producing  only  wiry  grass,  yellow  pines,  and  small  pimento 
palms.  On  these  "pine  ridges"  Indian  mounds  are  hardly  ever 
found,  nor  do  the  Indians  of  to-day  build  villages  upon  them  except 
in  rare  instances  and  for  special  local  reasons.  With  the  exception 
of  the  extreme  northern  part,  nearly  the  whole  of  this  area  is  well 
watered  by  rivers  and  streams,  while  scattered  throughout  it  are 
numerous  lagoons  and  lakes,  the  largest  of  which  is  the  Bacalar 
Lagoon. 
14 


Fig.  1.— Map  showing  Yucatan,  Campeche,  British   Hondu- 
ras, and  part  of  Guatemala.    The  area  dealt  with  is  shaded. 


PERSONAL  CHARACTERISTICS 

The  manners,  customs,  religious  conceptions,  and  daily  life  of  all 
these  Indians  are  very  similar,  though  among  the  Indians  of  British 
Honduras,  who  come  more  closely  in  contact  with  outside  influences, 
old  customs  are  dying  out,  and  old  ideas  and  methods  are  being  super- 
seded by  new.  The  language  of  the  tribes  here  considered,  with 
slight  local  dialectical  variations,  is  the  same;  all  are  of  the  same 
physical  type;  in  fact,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  they  are  the 
direct  descendants  of  those  Maya  who  occupied  the  peninsula  of 
Yucatan  at  the  time  of  the  conquest.  Physically,  though  short  they 
are  robust  and  well  proportioned.  The  men  average  5  feet  2 
inches  to  5  feet  3  inches  in  height,  the  women  about  2  inches  less.  The 
skin  varies  in  color  from  almost  white  to  dark  bronze.  The  hair  of 
both  sexes  is  long,  straight,  coarse,  black,  and  luxuriant  on  the  head, 
where  it  extends  very  low  over  the  forehead,  but  is  almost  entirely 
absent  from  other  parts  of  the  body.  The  women  usually  wear  their 
hair  hanging  down  the  back  in  two  plaits.  Thoir  faces  aro  round 
and  full,  with  rather  high  cheek  bones;  the  skull  is  highly  brachi- 
cephalic  in  type.  The  following  indices  were  taken  from  a  small 
number  of  Santa  Cruz  Indians,  mostly  malos  of  middle  age : 

Maximum  length  of  head cm . .   17.  52 

Maximum  breadth  of  head cm. .   15.  44 

Cephalic  index 88.11 

Facial  height cm . .  11. 68 

Maximum  bi-zygomatic  breadth cm . .  12.  84 

Facial  index 84-40 

Nasal  height cm . .     5. 13 

Nasal  breadth cm. .     3.  55 

Nasal  index 69.  SO 

The  eves  aro  largo  and  dark  brown,  the  ears  small  and  closely  applied 
to  the  head,  the  nose  rather  broad,  and  the  jaw  prognathous.  The 
mouth  is  fairly  largo  and  the  teeth  excellent,  though  toward  middle 
age  they  become  greatly  worn  down  in  many  individuals  front  eating 
corn  cake  impregnated  with  grit  from  the  stone  nictate,  and  from  the 
same  cause  they  are  frequently  much  incrusted  with  tartar.  'Hie  figure 
in  both  sexes  is  short  and  broad.  The  long  bones  and  the  extremities 
are  small  and  delicate.  Both  men  and  women  are,  however,  capable 
of  considerable  and  prolonged  exertion.  The  former  can  carry  loads 
of   150  pounds  for  20  miles  in   the  macapal    (tab),  a  netted   bag 

15 


16  BUREAU.  OF  AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

which  is  slung  over  the  back  and  held  up  by  a  band  passing  round 
the  forehead,  while  the  latter  can  work  for  hours  at  a  time  grinding 
corn  on  the  metate  without  apparent  fatigue.  Many  of  the  younger 
women  would  be  considered  very  good  looking,  measured  by  the 
most  exacting  standard,  though  they  reach  maturity  at  an  early  age, 
and  deteriorate  in  appearance  very  rapidly  after  marriage,  the  face 
becoming  wrinkled  and  the  figure  squat  and  shapeless.  In  walking 
the  men  bend  the  body  forward  from  the  hips,  keep  the  eyes  fixed  upon 
the  ground,  and  turn  the  toes  in,  habits  acquired  from  carrying  the 
macapal  on  all  occasions.  So  accustomed  have  they  become  to  this 
contrivance  that  many  of  them,  when  starting  on  a  journey  of  even 
a  couple  of  miles,  rather  than  go  unloaded,  prefer  to  weight  the 
macapal  with  a  few  stones  as  a  counterpoise  to  the  habitual  forward 
inclination  of  their  bodies  above  the  hips.  Children  begin  carry- 
ing small  macapals  at  a  very  early  age,  and  it  is  probably  to 
this  habit  and  not,  as  Landa  suggests,  to  the  custom  among  the 
women  of  carrying  their  children  astride  the  hip  that  the  prevalence 
of  bowlegs  (kulba  ok)  among  the  Indians  is  due.  These  people  have 
a  peculiar  and  indescribable  odor,  rather  pleasant  than  otherwise; 
it  is  not  affected  by  washing  or  exercise,  is  much  stronger  in  some 
individuals  than  in  others,  and  is  perceptible  in  both  sexes  and  at 
all  ages.  The  women  are,  on  the  whole,  both  physically  and  mentally 
superior  to  the  men,  and  when  dressed  in  gala  costume  for  a  "baile" 
with  spotlessly  clean,  beautifully  embroidered  garments,  all  the  gold 
ornaments  they  possess  or  can  borrow,  and  often  a  coronet  of  fire 
beetles,  looking  like  small  electric  lamps  in  their  hair,  they  present  a 
very  attractive  picture.  They  are  polite  and  hospitable,  though 
rather  shy  with  strangers;  indeed  in  the  remoter  villages  they  often 
rush  into  the  bush  and  hide  themselves  at  the  approach  of  anyone 
not  known  to  them,  especially  if  the  men  are  away  working  in  the 
milpas.  They  are  very  fond  of  gossip  and  readily  appreciate  a  joke, 
especially  one  of  a  practical  nature,  though  till  one  gets  to  know 
them  fairly  well  they  appear  dull  and  phlegmatic.  When  quarreling 
among  themselves  both  women  and  girls  use  the  most  disgusting  and 
obscene  language,  improvising  as  they  go  along,  with  remarkable 
quick- wittedness,  not  binding  themselves  down  to  any  conventional 
oaths  or  forms  of  invective,  but  pouring  out  a  stream  of  vituperation 
and  obscenity  to  meet  each  case,  which  strikes  with  unerring  fidelity 
the  weak  points  in  the  habits,  morals,  ancestry,  and  personal  appear- 
ance of  their  opponents.  The  young  girls  are  as  bad  as,  if  not  worse 
than,  the  older  women,  for  whom  they  seem  to  have  no  respect. 
They  are  extremely  clean  in  their  persons,  and  wash  frequently, 
though  with  regard  to  their  homes  they  are  not  nearly  so  particular^ 
as  hens,  dogs,  pigs,  and  children  roll  about  together  promiscuously 
on  the  floor,  and  fleas,  lice,  and  jiggers  abound  only  too  frequently. 


ga.nn]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  17 

The  description  given  by  Landa  (chap,  xxxn,  p.  192)  of  the  Indian 
women  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  applies  equally  well  to  their 
descendants  of  the  present  day: 

Emborachavanse  tambien  ellas  con  los  combites,  aunque  por  si,  como  comian  por 
si,  y  no  se  emborachavan  tanto  como  los  hombres  .  .  .  Son  avisadas  y  corteses  y 
conversables,  eon  que  se  entienden,  y  a  maravilla  bien  partidas.  Tienen  poco 
secreto  y  no  son  tan  lirapias  en  sus  personas  ni  en  sus  cosas  con  quanto  se  lavan  como 
los  erminos. 

The  women  are  very  industrious,  rising  usually  at  3  or  4  o'clock 
in  the  morning  to  prepare  the  day's  supply  of  tortillas  or  corn  cake. 
During  the  day  they  prepare  tobacco  (kutz)  and  make  cigarettes; 
gather  cotton  (taman),  which  they  spin  (Jcuch),  weave  (sakal),  and 
embroider  for  garments;  weave  mats  of  palm  leaf  and  baskets  (xush) 
of  a  variety  of  liana  (ale);  make  pottery  (ul),  and  cotton  and  hene- 
quen  cord,  of  which  they  construct  hammocks  Qcari).  In  addition 
to  these  tasks  they  do  the  family  cooking  and  washing,  look  after 
the  children,  and  help  their  husbands  to  attend  to  the  animals. 
Till  late  at  night  the  women  may  be  seen  spinning,  embroidering, 
and  hammock-making  by  the  light  of  a  native  candle  or  a  small 
earthenware  cuhoon-nut  oil  lamp,  meanwhile  laughing  and  chatting 
gayly  over  the  latest  village  scandal,  the  older  ones  smoking  cigarettes, 
while  the  men  squat  about  on  their  low  wooden  stools  outside  the 
house  gravely  discussing  the  weather,  the  mflpas,  the  hunting,  or 
the  iniquities  of  the  Alcalde.  Among  the  Indian  women  of  British 
Honduras  the  old  customs  are  rapidly  dying  out;  spinning  and 
weaving  are  no  longer  practiced,  pottery  making  has  been  rendered 
unnecessary  by  the  introduction  of  cheap  iron  cooking  pots  and 
earthenware,  candles  have  given  place  to  mineral  oil  lamps,  and 
even  the  metate  is  being  rapidly  superseded  by  small  American  hand 
mills  for  grinding  the  corn.  The  men's  time  is  divided  between 
agriculture,  hunting,  fishing,  and  boat  and  house  building,  though 
at  times  they  undertake  tusks  usually  left  to  the  women,  as  mat 
and  basket  making,  and  even  spinning  and  weaving.  The  In- 
dians of  British  Honduras  who  live  near  settlements  do  light  work 
for  the  rancheros  and  woodcutters;  they  have  the  reputation  of  being 
improvident  and  lazy,  and  of  leaving  their  work  as  soon  as  they  have 
acquired  sufficient  money  for  their  immediate  needs,  and  this  is  to 
some  extent  true,  as  the  Indian  always  wants  to  invest  his  cash  in 
some  tiling  which  will  give  an  immediate  return  in  pleasure  or  amuse- 
ment. The  men  are  silent,  though  not  sullen,  very  intelligent  in  all 
matters  which  concern  their  own  daily  life,  but  singularly  incurious 
as  to  anything  going  on  outside  of  this.  They  are  civil,  obliging, 
and  good-tempered,  and  make  excellent  servants,  when  they  can  be 
got  to  work,  but  appear  to  be  for  the  most  part  utterly  lacking  in 
70806°— 18— Bull.  G4 2 


18  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN"   ETHNOLOGY  [boll.  64 

ambition  or  in  any  desire  to  accumulate  wealth  with  which  to  acquire 
comforts  and  luxuries  not  enjoyed  by  their  neighbors.  It  happens 
occasionally  that  an  individual  does  perforce  acquire  wealth,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  head  chief  of  the  Icaiche  Indians,  who  was 
paid  a  salary  by  the  Mexican  Government  to  keep  his  people 
quiet,  and  royalties  on  chicle  cut  on  his  lands  by  various  contractors. 
He  accumulated  a  considerable  sum,  all  in  gold  coin,  which  he 
stored  in  a  large  demijohn  and  hid  in  the  bush.  At  his  death,  as  no 
one  knew  the  place  where  the  demijohn  was  buried,  the  money  was 
permanently  lost.  They  are  remarkably  skillful  at  finding  their  way 
in  the  bush  by  the  shortest  route  from  point  to  point,  possessing  a 
faculty  in  this  respect  which  amounts  almost  to  an  instinct ;  they  are 
skillful  also  at  following  the  tracks  of  men  and  animals  in  the  bush 
by  means  of  very  slight  indications,  as  broken  twigs  and  disturbed 
leaves,  imperceptible  to  an  ordinary  individual.  The  men  are  very 
stoical  in  bearing  pain.  I  have  removed  both  arms  at  the  shoulder 
joints,  with  no  other  surgical  instrument  than  a  long  butcher's  knife, 
and  no  anesthetic  except  several  drinks  of  rum,  for  an  Indian, 
crushed  between  the  rollers  of  a  native  sugar  mill,  without  his  uttering 
a  single  complaint.  The  Indians  are  undoubtedly  cruel,  but  not 
wantonly  so,  as  the  shocking  acts  of  cruelty  reported  as  being  per- 
petrated by  them  from  time  to  time  are.  usually  by  way  of  reprisal  for 
similar  or  worse  acts  on  the  part  of  the  Mexicans.  Before  the  rising 
of  the  Indians  in  1848,  they  were  throughout  this  part  of  Yucatan  prac- 
tically in  a  state  of  slavery,  and  were  often  treated  by  their  Spanish 
masters  with  the  utmost  barbarity.  As  an  instance  of  this  it  is 
recorded  of  a  well-known  merchant  of  Bacalar  that  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  burying  his  Indian  servants  in  the  ground  to  the  neck,  with 
their  heads  shaved,  exposed  to  the  hot  sun;  their  heads  were  then 
smeared  with  molasses  and  the  victims  were  left  to  the  ants ;  and  this 
punishment  was  inflicted  for  no  very  serious  offense.  It  is  hardly  to 
be  wondered  at  that  such  treatment  left  in  the  Indians'  hearts  an 
undying  hatred  for  their  masters  which,  when  in  their  turn  they 
gained  the  ascendancy,  found  vent  in  acts  of  the  most  horrible 
cruelty — flogging,  burning,  mutilation,  and  even  crucifixion. 

Dress 

The  men  wear  hats  of  platted  palm  leaf,  which  they  make  them- 
selves; those  woven  from  coarse  split  palm  leaf  are  known  as  xani 
pok,  those  of  very  fine  leaf,  like  Panama  hats,  bear  the  name  borni 
pok  (pi.  1).  They  wear  cotton  trousers  (eex),  or  in  some  sections 
short  cotton  drawers  (xkulex),  with  a  short,  loose,  shirt-like  jacket  of 
cotton  hanging  outside  the  trousers.  On  the  feet  they  use  sandals 
of  danta  hide  (xanapJceuel)  held  in  place  by  a  leather  or  henequen 
thong  passing  between  the  great  and  second  toes  and  around  the 


BUREAU   OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN    64     PLATE  1 


GROUP  OF  SANTA   CRUZ    INDIANS 


Fig.  2.— Gold  earrings  made  and  worn  by  the  Santa  Cruz 

blouse,   cut   square  at    the 


gann]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  19 

back  of  the  heel  to  the  front  of  the  instep,  where  it  is  fastened. 
Formerly  the  cotton  was  grown,  spun,  and  woven  at  home,  but 
nowadays  it  is  giving  place  to  cheap  imported  English  and  Ameri- 
can goods,  while  the  sandals  are  being  superseded  by  moccasins 
and  even  by  imported  shoes.  The  moccasins  the  Indians  make 
themselves,  tanning  the  hides  (usually  of  deer  or  antelope)  in  lime 
and  red  mangrove  bark  and 
stitching  the  parts  together 
with  thin  strips  of  leather. 
These  moccasins,  which 
are  made  on  crude  wooden 
lasts,  are  very  comfortable 
and  wear  well. 

The  women  wear  two  gar- 
ments of  cotton;  the  huipil 
(yupte) ,  a  loose  short-sleeved 

fig.  •!.—  uoia  earrings  m 

Indians 

neck,   and  reaching  nearly 

to  the  knees,  and  a  short  skirt  reaching  to  between  the  knee  and 
the  ankle,  known  as  a  pile.  The  neck,  the  lower  border,  and  the 
armholes  of  the  blouse  and  the  edge  of  the  skirt  were  formerly 
beautifully  embroidered  in  varicolored  floral  and  geometrical  de- 
vices; now,  however,  cotton  manufactured  in  England  or  the  United 
States  and  stamped  in  colors  to  imitate  the  original  embroidery 
is  rapidly  coming  into  use.  The  women  formerly  went  barefooted 
or  wore  loose  slippers;  now  they  frequently  wear  imported  shoes, 
often  with  .high  heels,  a  feature  which  renders  their  walk  and 
carriage  awkward  and  stilted.  They  often  go  bareheaded,  but 
sometimes  wear  a  sort  of  shawl  (bostch)  around  the  head  and  shoul- 
ders. Many  of  them  wear  largo  round  or  oval  plaques 
of  gold  (tup)  in  the  ears,  survivals,  probably,  of  the 
enormous  round  car  disks  worn  by  the  ancient  Maya 
(fig.  2).  Some  of  the  women  wear  long  gold  chains, 
with  religious  medallions  attached,  while  the  smaller 
FiG.3.-crossoftan-  children  wear  a  variety  of  curious  objects,  as  small 
i.Tehikircn  V  °m  coms>  shells,  beads,  dried  seeds,  and  berries,  with  fig- 
urines in  wood,  stone,  pottery,  and  metal,  strung  round 
their  necks.  Many  of  these  are  worn  as  charms  or  amulets  to  pro- 
tect the  wearer  against  diseases,  accidents,  or  evil  spirits,  or  to  bring 
good  luck.  A  charm  worn  by  nearly  all  children  consists  of  a 
small  cross  of  tancasche  bark  (fig.  3)  which  is  regarded  as  a  sov- 
ereign remedy  for  flatulence,  a  complaint  from  which,  owing  to  the 
nature  of  their  diet,  nearly  all  suffer. 


20  BUREAU   OF   AMEEICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bui-l.  64 

Industrial  Activities 
agriculture 

Of  all  the  arts  practiced  by  the  Indian,  agriculture  is  by  far 
the  most  important;  indeed  the  greater  part  of  his  time  and  labor 
are  devoted  to  the  milpa  (kol),  or  corn  plantation,  which 
affords  him  his  principal  means  of  livelihood,  for  if  the  corn  crop 
fails  he  knows  that  actual  starvation  will  menace  his  family  until 
the  next  crop  is  gathered.  The  virgin  bush,  in  which  the  milpa  is 
made,  is  cut  down  about  December  or  January,  only  the  large  and 
hardwood  trees  being  left  standing.  This  is  the  most  arduous  part 
of  the  work,  and  the  neighbors  often  assist  in  it,  being  helped  in 
turn  when  making  their  own  milpas.  The  bush  is  allowed  to  dry 
until  the  end  of  May  (the  dry  season  lasting  from  January  to  May), 
when  it  is  burned  off.  After  the  burnt  area  has  been  cooled  by  the 
first  shower  of  rain  it  is  planted  in  corn  (ixim).  This  is  a  simple 
operation,  two  or  three  men  going  over  the  ground,  each  with  a  bag 
of  corn  and  a  sharp-pointed  stick,  making  small  holes  at  fairly  regular 
intervals,  into  each  of  which  they  drop  a  few  grains  of  corn,  and 
then  cover  them  with  earth.  About  October  the  corn  begins  to  ripen, 
whereupon  each  stalk  is  bent  about  a  foot  below  the  ear  and  allowed 
to  hang  down  for  several  days  in  order  that  rain  may  not  gain 
entrance  and  spoil  the  grain  in  the  final  stages  of  ripening.  During 
this  period  the  owner  spends  nearly  all  his  time  in  the  milpa,  sleeping 
there  in  a  little  palm-leaf  shack  at  night,  since  many  animals,  as 
deer  and  wild  hogs,  are  very  fond  of  corn,  which  is  subject  to  raids 
also  by  neighboring  Indians  and  by  tame  pigs  from  the  village. 
When  the  corn  is  ripe,  it  is  stored,  still  in  the  husk,  upon  a  low  plat- 
form, in  a  small  house  specially  built  for  the  purpose,  often,  in  order 
to  avoid  transportation,  situated  within  the  milpa.  It  is  shelled  as 
required  for  use,  the  surplus  from  that  eaten  by  the  family  and 
stock  being  exchanged  at  the  nearest  village  for  cash  or  for  cotton 
cloth,  rum,  iron  cooking  pots,  ammunition,  and  other  luxuries.  The 
shelling  is  done  by  rubbing  the  husked  ear  against  a  rough  flat  sur- 
face, made  by  binding  a  number  of  corncobs  (bacaT)  together  into  a 
circle  with  liana.  Many  fruits  and  vegetables  besides  corn  are  grown 
in  the  milpa,  including  yams  (xaci  macal),  camote  (is),  pumpkins 
(kuum),  squashes  (xlca),  tomatoes  (paalc),  plantains  (haz),  colalu 
(xterkocJi),  aguacate  (on),  plums  (abal),  oranges  (pakaal),  siricote 
(Tcopte),  sapodillas  (yd),  mamai  (chacal  haz),  okra,  garden  egg,  melon, 
breadfruit,  sweet  lime,  pineapple,  and  a  variety  of  others. 


ganx]         MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  21 

PROCURING  FOOD;    COOKING 

Both  men  and  women  take  for  the  first  meal  of  the  day  a  hot 
thick  drink  known  as  posol,  made  from  ground  corn  and  water, 
often  flavored  with  honey;  later  they  eat  tortillas,  beans,  and  chili 
pepper,  accompanied  with  a  cold  drink  made  from  corn.  In  the 
evening  they  make  their  principal  repast,  which  includes  game, 
pork,  fish,  or  eggs,  with  beans  and  other  vegetables,  plenty  of  chili 
pepper,  and  either  chocolate  or  some  hot  drink  made  from  corn. 
They  use  a  great  variety  of  drinks  concocted  of  ground  maize  and 
water,  including  chocosacan,  a  solution  of  the  masa  from  which 
tortillas  are  made,  in  water,  flavored  with  a  little  salt;  pinol,  a 
solution  of  ground  toasted  corn  seasoned  with  pimento  and  other 
spices;  posol,  boiled  corn  ground  to  a  paste  and  mixed  with  hot 
water;  sacha,  very  much  like  posol,  but  the  corn  is  not  cooked 
soft,  so  that  the  beverage  is  gritty;  and,  lastly,  atol,  which  is  cho- 
cosacan boiled  till  the  mixture  becomes  thick  and  glutinous. 

Tortillas,  or  corn  cake,  sometimes  eaten  hot,  sometimes  cold, 
and  at  times  toasted,  are  the  Indian's  chief  mainstay  in  the  way 
of  food,  as  they  appear  at  every  meal,  and  at  a  pinch  he  can  exist 
on  them  alone  for  a  very  long  period.  Tortillas  are  made  in  the 
following  way:  The  grain  is  first  soaked  overnight  in  a  lye  of  wood 
ashes,  treatment  which  softens  the  grain  and  loosens  the  outer  husk. 
The  softened  grain  is  next  ground  into  a  fine  paste  on  an  oblong 
stone,  slightly  concave,  known  as  a  metate  (ka),  by  means  of  a 
stone  rolling  pin  thicker  in  the  middle  than  at  the  ends,  designated 
as  a  brazo  (u  Icabfca).  This  procedure  takes  considerable  time,  as 
the  grain  has  to  be  ground  a  number  of  times  in  order  to  get  the 
paste  to  the  required  degree  of  fineness.  When  the  paste  or  masa 
is  ready  it  is  flattened  by  hand  into  small  round  cakes  (tortillas), 
which  are  baked  on  an  iron  or  earthen  plaque  (xamach)  over  a  glow- 
ing wood  lire. 

The  hunters  are  experts  at  barbecuing  {macan)  the  carcasses  of 
various  birds  and  animals,  chiefly  deer,  peccary,  wild  turkey,  and 
curassow,  as  they  often  get  a  large  supply  of  game  when  several 
days'  journey  from  the  village,  which,  unless  preserved  in  some  way, 
would  quickly  spoil.  The  carcasses  are  cut  into  joints;  the  birds 
plucked,  cleaned,  and  split  open;  and  the  meat  thus  prepared  is 
hung  in  a  small  palm-leaf  shack  rendered  as  nearly  airtight  as  pos- 
sible, upon  the  floor  of  which  is  kindled  a  lire  of  damp  cedar  chips. 
These  give  off  some  heat  and  great  quantities  of  aromatic  smoke, 
so  that  in  about  24  hours  the  meat  is  sufficiently  cured  to  last  for 
several  weeks.  Meat  prepared  in  this  way  is  considered  a  great 
delicacy.  If  it  is  wished  to  preserve  the  meat  for  longer  periods 
the  process  is  prolonged  and  salt  may  be  rubbed  in.     Strips  of  meat 


22  BUREAU   OF  AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

and  carcasses  of  birds  may  sometimes  be  seen  hanging  from  the 
rafters  over  the  fire  in  the  kitchen  so  desiccated,  hard,  and  black- 
ened that  it  would  appear  impossible  to  eat  them;  but  after  months 
of  drying  this  meat,  when  soaked  in  warm  water  for  24  hours,  is 
not  unpalatable.  The  Indians  wash  their  hands  before  and  after 
eating,  a  very  necessary  practice,  as  they  eat  exclusively  with  their 
fingers,  using  the  tortillas  to  scoop  up  gravy,  beans,  and  other 
mushy  foodstuffs.  They  eat  at  small  round  tables  about  16  inches 
high,  sitting,  or  rather  squatting,  around  them  on  little  blocks  of 
wood  4  to  5  inches  high.  They  are  very  fond  of  salt,  which  among 
the  coast  Indians  is  obtained  by  evaporating  sea  water,  among  the 
inland  villages  by  trade  from  Yucatan  and  Guatemala.  Since  this 
supply  has  been  almost  cut  off,  owing  to  the  troubles  with  Mexico,  the 
Indians  frequently  use  for  salt  the  ashes  obtained  by  burning  botan 
tops.  Men  and  women  do  not  eat  together,  as  the  women  are  pre- 
paring relays  of  hot  tortillas  for  the  men  while  the  meal  lasts.  Their 
food  and  mode  of  eating  is  well  described  by  Landa  (chap,  xxi, 
p.  120) : 

Que  por  la  manana  toman  la  bebida  caliente  con  pimienta,  como  esta  dicho  y 
entre  dia  las  otras  frias,  y  a  la  noche  los  guisados.  Y  que  si  no  ay  carne  hazen  sus 
salsas  de  la  pimienta  y  legumbres.  Que  no  acostumbravan  comer  los  hombres  con 
las  mugeres,  y  que  ellos  comian  por  si  en  el  suelo,  o  quando  mucho  sobre  una  serilla 
por  mesa:  y  que  comen  bien  quando  lo  tienen,  y  quando  no,  sufren  muy  bien  la 
hambre  y  passan  con  muy  poco.  Y  que  se  lavan  las  manos  y  la  boca  despues  de 
comer. 

Indeed,  the  foregoing  description  would  apply  almost  as  well  to 
Indians  of  the  more  remote  villages  of  the  present  day  as  to  those 
of  the  time  immediately  after  the  conquest.  In  localities  where 
they  have  come  in  contact  with  more  civilized  communities  their 
menu  has  been  considerably  enlarged  by  the  introduction  of  im- 
ported foodstuffs,  while  their  methods  of  eating  have  been  changed 
by  the  introduction  of  knives,  forks,  and  spoons.  The  native 
methods  of  cooking  are  very  primitive.  Three  large  flat  stones 
so  placed  as  to  form  an  equilateral  triangle,  known  as  Jcoben,  form 
the  only  fireplace;  in  this  is  kindled  the  fire  of  sticks  or  split  logs, 
over  which  is  placed  the  earthenware  or  iron  cooking  pots  or  plaque 
for  baking  tortillas,  resting  on  the  stones.  Fire  (kaak)  is  usually 
obtained  through  the  use  of  matches  among  the  Indians  of  British 
Honduras.  Hunters  and  others  who  spend  a  great  part  of  their 
time  in  the  bush  employ  flint  and  steel.  Among  the  Indians  in  the 
remote  villages  fire  is  still  made  by  swiftly  rotating  a  sharp-pointed 
shaft  of  some  hardwood  (usually  dogwood)  in  a  hole  made  in  a 
small  slab  of  very  light  dry  wood  (commonly  gumbo  limbo) .  There 
is  no  chimney  to  the  kitchen,  the  smoke  finding  its  way  out  as  best 
it  can  through  the  doors  and  crevices  in  the  walls;  consequently 


oann] 


MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


23 


the  whole  of  the  interior,  with  its  permanent  furnishings,  is  colored 
a  fine  rich  brown. 


HUNTING 


It  must  be  admitted  that  the  Indian  is  no  sportsman  in  the  pur- 
suit of  game,  the  claims  of  the  pot  being  always  paramount.  He 
rarely  shoots  at  a  flying  bird  unless  to  fire  into  the  midst  of  a  flock 
of  parrots  or  wild  ducks,  and  when  after  the  larger  game  he  waits 
till  he  can  deliver  the  contents  of  his  gun  point-blank  into  some  vital 


Fig.  4.— Powder  horn  and  measure  of  bamboo  used  by  the  Indians. 

part.  This  practice  may  bo  due  partly  to  the  limitations  of  his 
weapon,  which  till  recent  years  consisted  of  a  muzzle-loading  section 
of  gas  pipe,  nearly  as  dangerous  when  discharged  to  the  hunter 
as  to  the  game,  and  partly  to  the  fact  that  the  bush  is  usually  so 
dense  that  an  animal,  if  not  shot  at  point-blank  range,  can  not 
be  gotten  at  all.  It  is  probably  not  more  than  four  generations 
since  the  use  of  the  bow  and  arrow  died  out  among  the  Indians 
in  the  western  part  of  British  Honduras,  as  old  men  among  them 


Fig.  5.— Watertight  box  for  caps,  matches,  or  tinder,  with  corncob  stopper. 

have  told  me  that  they  could  remember  seeing  a  few  still  in  use 
when  they  were  very  young.  The  flint  arrowheads,  they  said, 
were  obtained  down  the  Mopan  River.  This  seems  quite  possible,  as 
at  Baker's,  not  far  from  Belize,  there  is  an  outcrop  of  flint,  where, 
judging  by  the  great  heaps  of  fresh-looking  chips  and  rejects  still 
in  existence,  a  considerable  '"factory"  must  have  existed  at  a  com- 
paratively recent  date.  Some  of  these  old  men  could  still  make 
fairly  serviceable  bows  and  arrows,  the  heads  of  the  latter  being  cut 
from  hardwood. 


24  BUREAU   OF  AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

The  principal  game  animals  of  this  region  are  the  deer  (ke),  two 
species  of  wild  hog,  the  warri  and  peccary  (kelcem),  gibnut  (halib), 
armadillo  (yetsh),  wild  turkey  (kutz),  parrot  (tut),  pigeons  of  various 
kinds  (mucui),  curassow  Qcambul),  quam  (cosh),  quail  (num),  and 
partridge  (mankolom).  Besides  these,  birds  in  great  variety,  rep- 
tiles, and  mammals  are  killed  and  eaten  from  time  to  time,  including 
plovers,  garzas,  toucans,  water  hens,  wild  ducks,  and  chichalacas. 
The  iguana  (tolok)  is  eaten  by  the  Indians  in  the  west  of  British  Hon- 
duras, as  are  also  the  woula  (ocJikan),  a  large  constrictor  snake,  and 
the  rattlesnake,  known  as  the  cazon  i  leash,  or  "little  shark  of  the 
woods."  Turtles  (sacak)  are  often  captured  along  the  east  coast  of 
Yucatan  and  the  adjacent  islands,  and  their  eggs  in  the  breeding 
season  form  a  great  delicacy  for  the  Santa  Cruz  Indians  living  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Tuluum.  Hicatee  (ok)  and  bucatora  are  caught 
in  great  numbers  in  all  the  rivers  and  lagoons.  The  tiger  (balam), 
puma  (coh),  picote  (chic),  monkey  (maash),  tapir  (tzimin),  squirrel 
(kuuk),  cane  rat  (tso),  and  other  animals  are  hunted  from  time  to 
time,  either  for  their  skins  or  flesh.  Deer  are  secured  in  considerable 
numbers  in  the  rutting  season  by  imitating  their  call  with  a  wooden 
whistle  (fig.  6) ;  they  are  also  found  in  the  milpas,  just  after  the  burning, 


m 

Fig.  6.— Whistle  for  attracting  deer  by  imitating  their  call. 

where  they  come  to  lick  the  slightly  saline  ashes.  At  this  time  the 
owners  build  platforms  on  poles  10  to  12  feet  high,  on  top  of  which 
they  spend  the  whole  night  in  an  extremely  cramped  and  uncom- 
fortable position,  waiting  for  deer  or  other  game  to  approach  near 
enough  for  an  easy  shot.  A  favorite  method  of  hunting  the  larger 
game  animals  is  to  go  out  at  night  with  a  split-pine  torch  attached 
to  the  hat;  this  attracts  animals  of  all  kinds,  whose  eyes  may  be 
seen  gleaming  in  the  dark,  affording  an  easy  mark,  though  not 
infrequently  a  neighbor's  errant  pig  pays  the  penalty  of  curiosity. 

Traps  of  two  kinds  are  in  common  use.  One  employed  to  snare 
larger  game  is  constructed  in  the  following  way:  A  path  frequented 
by  game  in  going  to  and  from  a  watering  place  is  found;  along  this 
is  dug  a  shallow  trench  opposite  a  good  springy  young  sapling;  two 
stakes  are  driven  in,  one  on  each  side  of  the  trench,,  the  one  farthest 
from  the  tree  being  crooked  at  the  top.  A  piece  of  henequen  cord, 
provided  with  a  noose  at  one  end,  and  with  a  stick  long  enough  to 
extend  from  one  stake  to  the  other,  firmly  tied  by  its  middle  above 
the  noose,  is  attached  to  the  top  of  the  sapling  by  its  other  end. 
The  sapling  is  then  bent  down  and  held  in  place  by  the  stick  above 
the  noose,  which  is  fixed  lightly  between  the  crook  in  one  stake  and 


oann]         MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  25 

the  stake  opposite  to  it,  the  loop  hanging  suspended  between  the 
two.  Lastly,  a  number  of  sticks  and  leaves  are  scattered  lightly  over 
the  trench  and  beside  the  stakes  and  loop.  Animals  coming  along 
the  run  are  very  apt  to  put  their  necks  in  the  loop,  and  by  pulling 
on  this,  to  release  the  cross  stick,  whereupon  they  are  immediately 
suspended  in  the  air  by  the  jerking  back  of  the  bent  sapling. 
Animals  of  all  sizes,  from  rabbits  to  tigers,  are  caught  in  traps  of 
this  kind,  the  strength  and  adaptability  of  which  vary  with  the  size 
of  the  bent  tree  and  the  adjustment  of  the  noose.  Another  trap, 
used  only  for  small  animals,  consists  of  an  oblong  cage  made  of  split 
bamboo  or  cabbage  bark.  Over  the  opening,  which  is  in  the  top, 
rests  an  accurately  balanced  strip  of  board,  baited  at  one  end  with 
corn.  When  the  animal  endeavors  to  reach  the  bait  it  is  precipitated 
into  the  trap,  and  the  board  swings  back  into  place,  covering  the 
exit.  Before  they  obtain  guns  the  boys  use  slings,  with  which  they 
can  throw  pebbles  with  remarkable  force  and  accuracy,  bringing 
down  birds,  squirrels,  and  other  small  game.  They  keep  many  tame 
animals,  some  for  food,  others  as  pets,  including  pigs,  dogs,  cats, 
peccaries,  gibnuts,  rabbits,  quashes,  nicos  de  noche,  and  squirrels; 
also  birds,  as  parrots,  doves,  quam,  curassow,  chichalaca,  sinsonte, 
pavo  real,  and  many  others. 

FISHING 

Many  fish  are  found  in  the  coastal  waters,  in  the  rivers,  and  in  the 
lagoons  of  the  interior,  including  cazoncs,  tarpon,  skipjacks,  snappers, 
eels,  baracoudas,  stone  bass,  cobarli,  jewfish,  tubers,  bay  snooks, 
river  snooks,  and  a  variety  of  others.  They  are  caught  with  hook  and 
line,  in  cast  and  seine  nets,  in  traps,  and  by  spearing  or  harpooning. 
Fish  traps  are  cylindrical  in  shape,  with  a  funnel-shaped  opening 
at  each  end,  the  apex  of  the  funnel  pointing  toward  the  center  of  the 
trap,  so  that  entrance  is  easy  but  exit  very  difficult.  The  traps, 
made  of  split  bamboo,  are  placed  upon  the  bottoms  of  rivers  or 
lagoons,  baited  with  "masa,"  which  attracts  multitudes  of  the  tiny 
fish  there  abounding;  these  in  their  turn  attract  larger  fish,  which 
enter  the  trap  in  pursuit  of  the  small  fry  and  are  captured.  Har- 
pooning at  night  by  the  light  of  a  split-pine  torch  its  about  the  nearest 
approach  to  real  sport  which  the  Indian  enjoys;  this  is  usually  done 
near  the  bar  of  a  river,  on  a  calm  dark  night,  by  three  men  in  a 
canoe,  one  paddling,  one  holding  the  torch,  and  the  third  wielding 
the  harpoon.  This  implement  consists  of  a  slender  cane  10  to  12 
feet  in  length  provided  with  a  sharp  barbed  spindle-shaped  steel  head, 
fitting  into  the  hollow  at  one  end,  so  that  on  striking  the  fish  the 
head  parts  from  the  shaft  to  which  it  is  attached  by  a  cord  held  in 
the  hand  of  the  harpooncr.  The  fish  are  attracted  by  the  light  of 
the  torch,  and  the  harpooncr  strikes  at  the  swirl  which  they  make 


26 


BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  64 


alongside  the  dory.  Harpooning  is  rather  an  exciting  form  of  sport, 
as  it  is  impossible  to  tell  what  sort  of  fish  has  been  struck  until  it 
is  landed.  Hicatce  and  bucatora  are  harpooned  with  an  unbarbed 
triangular  point,  this  giving  the  best  hold  on  their  tough  shells;  they 
are  captured  also  by  spreading  small  nets  in  the  vicinity  of  the  stumps 
and  holes  along  the  river  banks,  which  they  frequent. 


CONSTRUCTION    OF    HOUSES   AND 
FURNITURE 

The  Indians  construct  their  houses 
in  the  following  manner:  First  a 
number  of  straight  trees  about  8 
inches  in  diameter  at  the  base  and 
crotched  at  the  top  are  selected  in 
the  bush  for  posts.  These  are  usu- 
ally Santa  Maria,  chichem,  sapo- 
dilla,  or  some  hardwood.  They  are 
cut  down,  and  after  having  been 
peeled  are  dragged  to  the  site  of  the 
new  house,  where  they  are  firmly 
planted,  one  at  each  of  the  four  cor- 
ners and  others,  the  number  de- 
pending on  the  size  of  the  house,  at 
short  intervals  between  in  the  lines 
of  the  walls.  In  the  crotches  other 
slightly  smaller  poles  5  to  6  inches 
in  diameter,  also  peeled,  are  laid;  to 
these  are  attached  still  smaller  poles, 
which  run  up  to  the  ridgepole 
(honache),  forming  rafters  (uinciche). 


5#&*~ ' 


Fig.  7.-Indian  carrying  load  of  bejuco,  a  liana    All  this  f  rameWOrk    is    firmly  bound 

used  as  rope  in  houes  building.  -  .  „  J 

together  by  means  ol  ropes  ol  liana 
(fig.  7) .  Rows  of  long  thin  pliable  sticks  are  next  bound  round  the 
rafters,  and  to  these  are  attached  layer  upon  layer  of  "  huana  "  (sTiaan) 
leaves  till  a  thatch,  sometimes  18  inches  thick  and  quite  impervious 
to  rain,  is  formed  (pi.  4). 

The  walls  between  the  posts  are  filled  in  with  "tasistas,"  a  small 
palm  trunk,  or  in  some  cases  with  strips  of  split  cabbage  palm.  The 
outer  sides  of  the  walls  may  be  daubed  with  a  mixture  of  mud  and 
hair,  or  of  chopped  fiber  (pakloom),  and  whitewashed,  or  they  may 
be  thatched  with  palm  leaves.  The  floor  is  made  of  marl  dust 
pounded  down  to  a  flat  hard  surface. 

Doors  and  windows  may  be  made  of  wickerwork  of  liana,  of  split 
cabbage  palm,  or  of  a  frame  of  sticks  thatched  with  palm  leaves. 
When  a  man  undertakes  the  building  of  a  new  house  his  neighbors 


BUREAU    OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


iULLETIN  64      PLATE  2 


MAYA   GIRLS    FISHING 


BUREAU    OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN   64      PLATE  3 


FISH    DRYING   ON    ONE  OF  THE  CAYS   OFF  THE  COAST  OF  YUCATAN 


BUREAU   OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN  64      PLATE  4 


a.    LEAF-THATCHED    HOUSE 


^M.r;^ 

K.1 

•      tv  ^PSlBK- 

Lw!     4l 

- 

1 
1 

T 

•».  a 

i  '*W23iLftPsJi 

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^^[ 

r 

*'     -I**  «S  Sh-  ■  i 

l             IjL.                          « 

I 

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=g-n 

b.    INDIAN    HOUSE   ON    RIO    HONDO 

MAYu    INDIAN    HuU 


gann] 


MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


27 


usually  help  him,  and  the  residence  is  ready  for  occupancy  in  a  few 
days,  as  all  the  materials  are  growing  ready  to  hand  in  the  neighbor- 
ing forest,  and  require  only  cutting  down  and  assembling.  The 
facility  with  which  their  dwellings  are  constructed,  and  the  difficulty 
in  getting  more  than  one  or  two  crops  in  succession  from  each  plan- 
tation, with  their  primitive  agricultural  methods,  probably  account 
for  the  frequent  changes  in  site  which  one  notices  in  Indian  villages. 
As  the  lands  in  one  neighborhood  become  impoverished,  the  popula- 
tion has  a  tendency  gradually  to  desert  the  old  village,  and  start  a 
new  one  in  a  more  favorable  locality. 

The  kitchen,  which  is  a  replica  of  the  house  on  a  small  scale,  is 
usually  placed  a  few  yards  be- 
hind it. 

The  furniture  is  of  the  sim- 
plest, consisting  of  a  small 
round  cedar  table,  with  a  lit- 
tle bowl-shaped  projection 
which  contains  a  lump  of  masa 
when  tortillas  are  being  made 
and  chili  peppers  or  salt  at 
mealtimes.  The  seats  are  mere 
blocks  of  wood,  3  or  4  inches 
high  (caanche),  with  perhaps 
one  or  two  more  pretentious 
low  hollow-backed  wooden 
chairs  covered  with  deer  skin 
or  "  tiger"  skin.  A  number  of 
calabashes  of  all  shapes  and 
sizes,  with  a  few  earthen 
water  jars,  iron  cooking  pots, 
and  plaques  for  baking  tortil- 
las, are  found  in  all  houses. 
Hammocks  (kaxin)  of  cotton  or  henequen  fiber  are  always  conspicu- 
ous articles  of  furniture,  as  they  are  slung  all  around  the  room, 
making  it  very  difficult  to  move  about  in  it  when  they  are  let 
down.  In  many  houses  contact  with  the  hammocks  is  not  desir- 
able, as  lice  have  a  habit  of  leaving  the  body  of  the  hammock 
during  the  day  and  secreting  themselves  in  the  knots  between 
the  body  and  the  arms,  whence  they  may  transfer  themselves  to  the 
garments  of  the  unwary.  If  the  hammock  is  large  the  father  ami 
mother  often  sleep  in  one,  their  heads  at  opposite  ends,  while  the 
smaller  children,  frequently  to  the  number  of  three  or  four,  occupy 
another.  There  can  be  no  such  thing  as  privacy,  as  the  whole  family 
commonly  sleep,  live,  and  eat  in  a  single  room,  which  at  most  is  divided 
into    two    apartments   by    a    flimsy   cotton   curtain.     A  prominent 


Fio.  8.— Domestic  altar. 


28  BUREAU   OP   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [boll.  64 

object  in  most  Indian  houses  is  an  altar  (canche),  or  high  square 
table,  upon  which  stands  a  wooden  cross  (fig.  8).  The  altar  is 
covered  with  a  cotton  cloth,  embroidered  in  flowers  and  religious 
symbols;  the  cross  is  draped  with  ribbon  or  strips  of  colored  fabric, 
and  sometimes  with  crude  models,  in  silver  or  gold,  of  legs,  arms, 
and  hands,  representing  thank  offerings  to  some  favorite  Santo  for 
the  healing  of  corresponding  parts  of  the  body.  Little  images  in 
wax,  and,  if  the  Indian  can  obtain  them,  religious  oleographs  and 
medallions,  with  colored-glass  vases,  are  commonly  found  upon  the 
altar,  which  is  frequently  dressed  with  fresh  flowers. 

The  Indian's  only  tool  is  his  machete,  a  heavy  cutlass-like  knife, 
about  16  inches  long;  with  this  he  cuts  and  cleans  his  milpa,  makes 
his  house  and  most  of  his  furniture,  digs  postholes,  and  fights  and 
defends  himself. 

His  indispensable  belongings  consist  of  a  hammock,  a  few  cal- 
abashes and  pots,  a  machete,  and  a  cotton  suit,  all  of  which  he 
can  carry  slung  over  his  back  in  a  macapal;  with  his  wife  and 
dogs  trotting  behind  him,  he  can  leave  his  old  home  and  seek  pas- 
tures new  with  a  light  heart  and  untroubled  mind,  knowing  that 
the  bush  will  provide  for  all  his  needs. 

POTTERY    MAKING 

Pottery  making  is  rapidly  dying  out  through  the  greater  part 
of  this  area,  owing  to  the  importation  of  more  convenient  and  dur- 
able vessels.  It  is  undertaken  almost  exclusively  by  the  older 
women,  who  employ  a  fine  light  yellow  clay  mixed  with  sand  or 
powdered  quartz.  They  make  vessels  in  considerable  variety,  both 
as  to  size  and  shape,  which  are  used  for  the  storage  of  water  and  dry 
material,  as  corn,  beans,  and  achiote,  and  as  cooking  pots.  They 
do  not  use  a  potter's  wheel,  but  mold  the  smaller  utensils  by  hand 
and  build  up  the  larger  by  the  addition  of  fragment  upon  fragment 
of  clay.  The  outside  is  smoothed  over  with  a  little  wooden  spade- 
like implement.  No  polish,  glaze,  or  paint  is  applied  to  the  pottery, 
either  inside  or  out;  the  highest  effort  at  decoration  resulting  in 
merely  a  few  incised  lines  just  below  the  neck,  or  a  rough  scalloping 
around  the  rim.  The  pottery  is  burned  in  a  clear,  open  wood  fire; 
when  completed  the  ware  is  known  as  ul. 

BOAT    BUILDING 

The  Indians  living  in  the  neighborhood  of  lakes  and  rivers  possess 
dories  or  canoes  which  vary  in  size  from  tiny  craft  5  to  6  feet  long 
by  16  to  18  inches  beam,  capable  of  holding  only  a  single  individual, 
to  large  craft  25  feet  or  more  in  length,  large  enough  to  hold  a  dozen 
people.  All  their  canoes  are  constructed  by  the  simple  process  of 
hollowing  out  large  logs,  the  more  durable  ones  being  made  from 
cedar,  the  lighter  ones  from  wild  cotton  iyaxche).     The  boats  are 


BUREAU   OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN   64      PLATE  5 


MAYA    WOMAN,    105    YLAHS   OLD.    bf'INNINU    COTTON 


BUREAU    OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN   64      PLATE  6 


MAYA    LOOM 


a.  Yamal.    b.  Xunche.    c.  Sikinche.    d.  Toboche.    e.  Cheil.    /.  Mamacche.    g.  Yoch.    h.  Botoeh. 
i.  New  spindle,    k.  Old  spindle.    /.  Cotton  cloth. 


gann]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  29 

pointed,  bow  and  stern,  and  when  steel  tools  are  available  to  their 
makers  the  lines  are  often  very  graceful.  Many  of  the  boats,  how- 
ever, follow  to  some  extent  the  contours  of  the  logs  from  which 
they  were  made,  being  exceedingly  clumsy  and  difficult  to  manage. 
On  the  rivers  and  lakes  the  only  method  of  propulsion  is  by  means 
of  a  broad-bladed  cedar  paddle  about  5  feet  long,  or,  where  the  water 
is  shallow  and  the  bottom  hard,  a  long  pole.  Both  men  and  women 
have  acquired  considerable  dexterity  in  paddling  and  can  keep  it 
up  at  a  4-mile-an-hour  gait  from  early  morning  till  late  at  night, 
with  very  short  intervals  for  refreshment.  They  use  their  canoes 
for  trading  corn,  vegetables,  lime,  and  live  stock  among  villages 
along  the  river  banks,  for  line  fishing,  spearing,  and  netting,  and 
for  getting  from  place  to  place.  On  the  large  lagoons  and  along 
the  seacoast  they  sometimes  use  the  pole  to  support  a  lug  sail. 

SPINNING    AND    WEAVING 

Spinning  (kucli)  is  done  by  means  of  a  spindle  (hechecli)  of  hard- 
wood, 12  to  14  inches  long,  weighted  about  3  inches  from  the  bottom 
with  a  hardwood  or  pottery  ring 
(pi.  5).  The  upper  end  is  re- 
volved by  the  finger  and  thumb 
of  the  right  hand,  which  are  con- 
stantly rubbed  on  a  piece  of  stone- 
like substance,  made  from  deer- 
skin burned  and  ground  to  a 
powder,  to  prevent   them  from 

,  •    i  •  //>  .-.»  mi  Fig.  9.— Stonelike  substance  used  to  prevent  fingers 

Sticking     (fig.     9).        The     COtton  from  sticking  wWle  spuming. 

(tarnari)  may  be  held  in  the  left 

hand,  or  on  the  shoulder;  the  lower  end  of  the  spindle  rests  in  a 
small  calabash  (luch),  which  is  cemented  into  a  support  of  woven 
liana  (met),  the  luch  and  met  together  being  known  as  toh  (fig.  10). 

Weaving  is  done  on  a  simple  loom  consisting  of  a  cloth  beam  and 
yarn  beam  (xunclie)  of  light  strong  wood,  connected  by  the  warp 
(cheil)  (pi.  6).  The  cloth  beam  is  attached  round  the  back  of  the 
weaver  by  a  thick  henequen  cord  (yamal),  enabling  him  to  tighten  the 
warp  at  will  by  simply  leaning  backward.  The  yarn  beam  is  usually 
attached  to  a  doorpost.  The  shuttle  (botosh)  consists  of  a  light 
stick,  pointed  at  both  ends,  on  which  the  weft  is  wound  obliquely. 
All  the  alternate  warp  strands  may  be  raised  together  by  means  of 
a  heddle  (mamacche)  consisting  of  a  number  of  loops  attached  to  a 
rod,  each  loop  passing  round  a  warp  strand,  so  that  when  the  rod  is 
raised  the  warp  threads  are  raised  with  it.  The  lease  rods  (halahteh) 
consist  of  splints  of  hard  heavy  wood,  usually  sapodilla,  2  to  3  inches 
broad,  one-third  of  an  inch  thick  in  the  center,  with  sharp  edges  and 
pointed  ends.     A  loose  rod  (toboche)  about  the  size  of  the  yarn  beam 


30 


BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  64 


is  used  to  roll  up  the  completed  material  (yocli).  The  loom  for 
cotton  cloth  is  usually  2\  to  3  feet  broad,  but  much  smaller  looms 
are  frequently  used  for  narrower  strips  of  material 

MINOR    INDUSTRIES 

Tobacco  Curing 

The  tobacco  leaves  are  hung  in  bunches,  often  under  the  roof  of 
the  corn  house,  in  the  milpa,  in  a  free  current  of  air,  till  they  are 
thoroughly  dry;  they  are  then  powdered  in  a  shallow  basin,  or 
the  bottom  cut  from  a  large  calabash,  and  mixed  with  the  leaves  of 
the  cMoJile,  a  species  of  vanilla,  which  gives  a  distinctive  flavor  and 
fragrance  to  the  tobacco;  finally  the  mixture  is  rolled  into  cigarettes 
(chiople)  in  a  covering  of  corn  husk  (coloch) . 


Fig.  10.— Calabash  with  liana  base  used  in  spinning. 
Basket  and  Mat  Weaving 

Baskets  are  woven  from  a  special  thin  tough  liana  and  from  split 
cane;  those  of  liana  (ale),  which  are  large  and  coarse,  are  ^commonly 
used  for  carrying  corn  from  the  milpa,  slung  over  the  shoulders  like 
a  macapal.  The  split-cane  baskets,  which  are  smaller  and  more 
neatly  woven,  are  used  in  the  house  for  all  sorts  of  domestic  purposes. 

Henequen  fiber  is  used  by  the  Indians  for  a  great  variety  of  pur- 
poses. The  fiber  is  obtained  from  the  leaf,  which  is  cleaned  upon  a 
smooth  board  {jpokche)  about  4  feet  long  by  6  inches  broad,  in  the 
following  way:  The  top  of  the  board  is  held  against  the  lower  part 
of  the  operator's  chest  while  the  lower  end  rests  on  the  floor.  The 
leaf  is  placed  on  the  board  and  the  pulp  scraped  from  the  fiber  with 
a  bar  of  hardwood,  triangular  in  section.  At  the  upper  end  of  the 
board  is  a  deep  notch  in  its  side,  in  which  the  cleaned  part  of  the 
leaf  is  clamped,  thus  fixing  the  part  which  is  being  scraped.     The 


gann]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  31 

cleaning  has  to  be  done  very  early  in  the  morning,  as  when  the  sun 
gets  hot  the  juice  from  the  pulp- produces  an  unpleasant  itching  rash 
upon  the  skin.  The  fiber  when  cleaned  and  dried  is  made  into  rope 
and  cord;  from  the  cord  hammocks,  sacks,  a  coarse  kind  of  cloth, 
and  many  other  articles  are  manufactured.  Candles  are  made  by 
dipping  a  wick  of  twisted  cotton  into  melted  black  beeswax  (box  keb), 
obtained  from  wild  bees.  Sometimes  a  number  of  the  logs  in  which 
the  wild  bees  hive  are  brought  in  to  the  village  and  placed  one  above 
the  other,  on  trestles,  to  form  a  sort  of  apiary,  in  order  that  honey 
and  wax  may  be  always  obtainable. 

Oil  for  cooking  and  for  burning  in  small  earthenware  lamps  with 
twisted  cotton  wicks  is  obtained  by  breaking  up  the  kernel  of  the 
cuhoon  nut  and  boiling  it  in  water.  A  clear  rather  thin  oil  floats  to 
the  surface,  which  may  easily  be  skimmed  off.  Near  the  sea  coconut 
oil  is  prepared  in  the  same  way. 


SOCIAL  CHARACTERISTICS 
Villages 

Tile  villages  vary  in  size  from  two  or  three  houses  to  two  hundred 
or  more,  with  inhabitants  numbering  from  10  or  12  to  more  than 
1,000.  In  the  smaller  villages  the  houses  are  very  irregularly  dis- 
posed; in  the  larger  they  are  arranged  more  or  less  regularly  so  as 
to  form  streets  around  a  large  central  space,  or  plaza,  where  the 
dance  house  and  church  are  usually  situated.  Each  house  is  sur- 
rounded by  its  own  patio,  or  yard,  generally  inclosed  in  a  fence  of 
"tasistas,"  in  which  the  bush  is  allowed  to  grow  to  a  considerable 
height  in  order  to  provide  a  convenient  latrine  for  the  women  and 
children.  Dogs,  pigs,  and  vultures  serve  as  scavengers.  Many  of  the 
Indians,  especially  the  Santa  Cruz,  are  at  great  pains  to  conceal  the 
whereabouts  of  their  villages.  Along  the  main  roads  only  a  few 
scattered  groups  of  huts  will  be  seen,  while  the  larger  villages  are 
approached  by  tracks  so  inconspicuous  that  they  may  easily  be 
missed.  The  villages  themselves  are  surrounded  by  a  maze  of  narrow 
tortuous  paths,  in  which  a  stranger  may  wander  about  for  some  time 
before  finding  his  way  in.  The  Santa  Cruz  are  said  sometimes  to 
cut  the  tongues  from  their  cocks  in  order  to  prevent  them  crowing 
and  so  betraying  the  situation  of  the  village. 

The  Indians  are  very  jealous  of  outside  interference  in  their  affairs 
and  do  not  permit  foreigners  to  reside  in  their  villages.  An  exception 
was  made  in  the  case  of  a  number  of  Chinese  coolies  imported  into 
British  Honduras  many  years  ago,  most  of  whom  ran  away  to  the 
Santa  Cruz  country,  where  they  were  well  received  and  married 
Indian  wives.  Among  their  offspring,  it  is  interesting  to  note,  are 
found  a  very  unusual  proportion  of  defectives.  On  one  occasion  the 
Mexican  Government  commenced  to  cut  a  road  through  from  Peto 
to  Santa  Cruz,  the  Indian  capital.  Five  of  the  Santa  Cruz  Indians 
went  to  see  the  work  going  on  and  were  well  received  and  given  useful 
presents.  On  returning  to  their  own  country,  however,  they  were 
executed  by  the  head  chief  as  traitors  for  encouraging  the  entry  of 
outsiders  into  their  territory. 

Marriage  and  Children 

The  Indian  girls  married  formerly  at  about  14  or  15,  the  boys 

at  about  17  or  18  years.     After  the  conquest  of  Bacalar,  however, 

and  the  expulsion  of  Yucatecans  from  Indian  territory  a  law  was 

passed  making  marriage  compulsory  for  all  girls-  of  12  years  of  age 

32 


[bull.  64,  qann]    MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS     33 

and  upward.  This  was  probably  done  with  the  idea  of  increasing 
the  population,  which  had  been  considerably  depleted  by  the  long- 
continued  war.  Formerly,  the  first  question  of  a  girl's  father  to 
her  suitor  was  "  Ilai  tzak  a  kul  hai  tzak  tamanV}  (How  many  macates 
of  corn  and  cotton  have  you?);  but  at  the  present  day  there  are 
not  enough  men  to  "go  round."  The  Indians  of  British  Honduras 
are  usually  married  by  the  Catholic  priest,  though  the  actual  cere- 
mony is  often  performed  months  or  even  years  after  the  young 
couple  have  set  up  housekeeping  together,  since  owing  to  the  re- 
moteness of  many  of  the  Indian  settlements  the  priest  can  visit 
them  only  at  long  intervals.  Among  the  Santa  Cruz  marriages  are 
not  considered  legal  unless  performed  by  an  official  known  as  the 
yumxcrib  (probably  derived  from  the  Maya  Yum,  "lord,"  and  Span- 
ish escribano),  who  holds  a  position  somewhat  analogous  to  that 
of  colonial  secretary  in  a  British  colony. 

The  babies  and  smaller  children  in  general  are  pretty,  merry 
little  things.  The  mothers  almost  invariably  nurse  them  well  into 
the  second  year,  as  the  mammary  glands  are  remarkably  well  devel- 
oped and  the  secretion  is  abundant  and  long  continued.  Children 
are  much  desired  by  both  parents  and  are  well  treated  and  loved, 
though  not  spoiled.  If  the  father  and  mother  separate,  the  very 
young  children  remain  with  the  mother;  of  the  older  children,  the 
boys  go  with  the  father,  the  girls  with  the  mother.  If  small  chil- 
dren are  left  destitute  by  the  death  of  both  parents,  the  nearest 
relative  takes  them,  and  in  the  absence  of  relatives  they  are  dis- 
tributed by  the  subchief  among  families  of  his  choosing  in  their 
own  village.  When  a  man  dies  his  widow  takes  the  home,  furniture, 
domestic  animals,  corn,  and  plantations;  other  possessions,  if  such 
exist,  are  divided  equally  between  the  widow  and  the  older  chil- 
dren, each  taking  such  articles  as  will  be  most  useful  to  him  or  her. 
When  a  woman  dies  her  jewelry,  ornaments,  and  clothes  are  divided 
between  her  daughters.  The  marriage  tie  is  a  somewhat  loose  one, 
and  the  more  the  Indians  come  in  contact  with  civilization  the 
looser  it  seems  to  become.  In  British  Honduras,  where  the  Indians 
are  closely  associated  with  Spaniards,  Mestizos,  Negroes,  and  other 
races,  the  women  change  their  partners  with  the  utmost  facility. 
The  Negroes  are  called  kisinbosh,  "black  devils,"  by  the  Indians, 
a  term  which,  however  it  originated,  is  now  employed  without  any 
particularly  opprobrious  significance,  as  many  of  the  Maya  women 
show  no  repugnance  to  a  Negro  husband.  A  good  deal  of  the 
immorality  is  brought  about  by  the  cheapness  of  rum  and  the  facil- 
ity with  which  it  is  obtainable  by  the  Indians.  The  husband  takes 
to  drmk,  neglects  his  wife  and  family,  and  probably  gets  entangled 
with  some  other  woman:  the  wife,  in  order  to  obtain  food,  clothing, 
70806°— 18— Bull.  64 3 


34  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

and  a  shelter  for  herself  and  children,  is  driven  to  an  alliance  with 
some  other  man  who  is  a  better  provider.  The  consequence  is  that 
in  British  Honduras  all  degrees  of  racial  mixture  are  to  be  found 
between  Indian  women  and  European,  East  Indian,  Chinese,  and 
Negro  men,  who,  again  intermarrying,  produce  a  bewildering  racial 
kaleidoscope. 

The  Indians  are  a  short-lived  race,  a  fact  due  partly  to  their 
indigestible  and  badly  cooked  food  and  partly  to  the  prevalence 
among  them  of  malarial  fever  {chokuil) ,  with  accompanying  anemia 
(xcan  mucui)  and  splenic  enlargement  (canchiJcin) ,  but  chiefly  to 
overindulgence  in  alcohol  whenever  an  opportunity  offers.  Notable 
exceptions  to  this  rule  are,  however,  not  uncommon,  and  once  an 
individual  passes  the  four-score  mark  he  or  she  is  quite  likely  to  live  to 
well  over  100  years;  dried  up,  wrinkled,  and  feeble,  but  clinging  to 
life  with  an  almost  incredible  tenacity. 

Drunkenness 

Landa  frequently  mentions  the  fact  that  in  his  day  drunkenness 
(kaltal)  was  the  curse  of  the  Indians  and  the  cause  of  many  crimes 
among  them,  including  murder,  rape,  and  arson.1  At  the  present 
time  these  remarks  apply  equally  well;  indeed,  drunkenness  is  prob- 
ably more  prevalent  than  formerly,  as  the  rum  is  made  locally  and 
is  far  more  intoxicating  than  the  lalche,  which  Landa  describes  as  a 
drink  made  from  fermented  honey,  water,  and  roots.  Moreover,  the 
people  drink  rum  at  all  times  and  seasons,  whereas  both  the  prepara- 
tion and  consumption  of  halche  were  to  some  extent  ceremonial,  as 
was  the  resulting  intoxication.  Drunkenness  is  not  considered  in 
any  way  a  disgrace,  but  is  looked  on  rather  as  an  amiable  weakness. 
The  women,  especially  the  older  ones,  drink  a  good  deal  but  they 
usually  do  so  in  the.  privacy  of  their  own  houses.  I  have  seen, 
however,  a  little  girl  of  14  or  15  purchase  a  pint  of  rum  in  a  village 
liquor  store,  and  go  out  on  the  plaza,  where  she  drank  it  in  a  few 
gulps;  then,  lying  down  in  the  fierce  heat  of  the  afternoon  sun,  she 
lapsed  into  alcoholic  coma.  Alcohol  effects  an  extraordinarily  rapid 
change  for  the  worse  in  the  Indian's  temperament;  from  a  quiet, 
polite,  rather  deferential  individual,  he  is  converted  almost  in  a 
moment  into  a  maudlin  idiot,  staggering  about  singing  foolish 
snatches  of  native  songs,  and  endeavoring  to  embrace  everyone  he 
comes  in  contact  with.  When  thwarted  while  in  this  condition  his 
temper  is  likely  to  flare  up  at  the  slightest  provocation,  whereupon 
the  thin  veneer  of  civilization  and  restraint  is  sloughed  in  a  moment,, 
and  he  becomes  savage,  impudent,  overbearing,  and  contemptuous; 

1  Que  los  indjos  eran  muy  dissolulos  en  bever  y  emboracharse,  de  que  les  seguian  muchos  males,  como' 
matarse  unos  a  otros,  violar  las  camas  .  .  .  y  pegar  fuego  a  sus  caaas, — Landa,  Relation  de  las  Cosas  de. 
Yucatan,  chap,  xxn,  p.  122. 


oann]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  35 

toward  the  stranger,  and  ready  to  draw  his  machete  and  fight  to 
kill,  with  friend  or  foe  alike. 

Chiefs 

On  the  death  of  the  head  chief  (noh  calan  or  nohoch  yumtat)  among 
the  Santa  Cruz  and  Icaiche  the  oldest  of  the  subchiefs  {chart  yum- 
topihb)  is  supposed  to  succeed  him;  as  a  matter  of  fact  there  are 
always  rival  claimants  for  the  chieftainship,  and  the  subchief  with 
the  strongest  personality  or  greatest  popularity  among  the  soldiers 
usually  succeeds  in  grasping  the  office.  There  are  nearly  always 
rival  factions  endeavoring  to  oust  the  chief  in  power,  and  the  latter 
rarely  dies  a  natural  death.  The  village  subchiefs  are  elected  by 
the  people.  The  power  of  the  head  chief  is  practically  absolute 
over  the  whole  tribe.  Some  years  ago,  when  Roman  Pec  was  head 
chief,  one  of  the  subchiefs  came  to  Corozal,  the  nearest  town  in 
British  Honduras,  to  purchase  powder,  shot,  and  other  supplies. 
He  remained  some  time,  as  he  had  many  friends  in  the  place,  and 
obtained,  among  other  tilings,  a  bottle  of  laudanum  to  relieve  tooth- 
ache. On  returning  to  his  village  he  was  met  by  three  soldiers, 
who  informed  him  that  he  was  to  go  with  them  at  once  to  the  head 
chief,  as  the  latter  was  angry  with  him  on  account  of  his  long  absence 
from  the  country.  Aware  that  this  was  equivalent  to  a  sentence  of 
death,  he  asked  permission  to  retire  to  his  house  for  a  few  minutes, 
to  get  ready  for  the  journey,  and  taking  advantage  of  the  oppor- 
tunity, he  swallowed  the  whole  contents  of  the  bottle  of  laudanum. 
This  began  to  take  effect  very  shortly,  and  long  before  reaching  the 
capital  he  was  dead. 

The  method  of  executing  those  sentenced  to  death  is  curious. 
The  accused  docs  not  undergo  a  formal  trial,  but  the  evidence 
against  him  is  placed  before  the  head  chief;  if  he  is  convicted, 
he  has  an  opportunity  of  defending  himself  and  of  producing  wit- 
nesses in  his  behalf.  Three  or  four  soldiers  are  chosen  by  the  chief 
to  carry  out  the  sentence;  this  they  do  by  chopping  the  victim 
to  death  with  their  machetes  when  they  catch  him  asleep  or  off 
his  guard.  Several  men  always  perform  this  act,  all  chopping  the 
victim  at  the  same  time,  so  that  no  single  individual  may  be  directly 
responsible  for  his  death.  Imprisonment  as  a  punishment  for 
crime  is  unknown,  line,  Hogging,  and  death  being  the  only  three 
methods  employed  for  dealing  with  criminals.  Fines  and  flogging 
may  be  administered  by  the  subchiefs,  but  sentence  of  death  can 
be  passed  only  by  the  head  chief.  The  severity  of  the  Hogging 
is  regulated  by  the  nature  of  the  offense,  and  after  it  is  over  the 
recipient  is  compelled  publicly  to  express  sorrow  for  his  crime  and 
go  around  humbly  kissing  the  hands  of  all  the  spectators,  after  which 
he  is  given  a  large  calabash  of  anise  to  drink.     The  heaviest  pun- 


36  BUREAU   OF   AMEEICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

ishment  is/ inflicted  for  witchcraft  or  sorcery,  as  the  pulya,  or  sor- 
ceress, is  greatly  dreaded  by  the  Indians.  She  is  literally  chopped 
limb  from  limb;  but  whereas  the  bodies  of  other  victims  executed 
in  this  way  are  always  buried,  that  of  the  pulya  is  left  for  the  dogs 
and  vultures  to  dispose  of. 

Military  service  is  compulsory  for  all  adult  males  among  the 
Santa  Cruz,  though  many  avoid  such  service  by  payment  to  the 
chief  of  a  certain  sum  in  money  or  its  equivalent.  Small  garrisons 
were  kept  up  at  Santa  Cruz,  Chan  Santa  Cruz,  Bacalar,  and  other 
Indian  towns  where  soldiers  were  permanently  stationed.  No  uni- 
form was  provided,  though  ,many  of  the  men  were  armed  with 
Winchester  rifles.  They  were  provided  also  with  a  ration  of  corn 
and  beans,  and  often  took  their  wives  along  with  them  as  cooks. 

Diseases  and  Medicines 

Indian  men  and  women  of  all  ages  and  classes,  when  attacked 
by  any  serious  malady,  are  found  to  be  lacking  in  vitality  and 
stamina;  they  relinquish  hope,  and  relax  their  grip  on  life  very  easily, 
seeming  to  hold  it  lightly  and  as  not  worth  a  fight  to  retain. 
An  elderly  man  or  woman  will  sometimes  take  to  the  hammock 
without  apparent  physical  symptoms  of  disease  beyond  the  anemia 
and  splenitis  from  which  nearly  all  suffer,  and  merely  announce 
He  in  cimli,  "I  am  going  to  die."  They  refuse  to  eat,  drink, 
or  talk,  wrap  themselves  in  a  sheet  from  head  to  foot,  and  finally 
do  succumb  in  a  very  short  time  apparently  from  sheer  lack  of 
vitality  and  absence  of  desire  to  continue  living. 

Malaria  is  without  doubt  the  chief  scourge  of  the  Indian's  existence. 
Many  of  the  villages  are  built  in  low-lying  situations,  with  mosquito- 
breeding  swamps  all  round  them,  while  the  scrubby  bush  and  rank 
vegetation  are  allowed  to  grow  in  the  yards  right  up  to  the  houses, 
furnishing  good  cover  and  an  excellent  lurking  place  for  the  insects; 
moreover,  the  Indians  seldom  use  mosquito  curtains,  as  they  seem 
to  have  acquired  a  sort  of  immunity  to  the  irritation  caused  at  night 
by  the  noise  and  biting  of  the  pests.  Practically  all  Indians  suffer 
from  malaria,  which  is  the  main  cause  of  the  splenic  enlargement  and 
anemia  so  prevalent  among  them.  In  some  cases  the  spleen  reaches 
an  enormous  size,  nearly  filling  the  abdominal  cavity,  and  deaths  from 
a  slight  blow  or  fall,  causing  rupture  of  this  organ,  are  by  no  means 
uncommon.  Malaria  is  usually  treated  by  means  of  profuse  sweating 
(kilcabankil) ,  the  patient  lying  wrapped  in  a  cotton  sheet  in  the 
hammock,  with  a  fire  burning  beneath  and  drinking  sudorific  bush 
medicine.  This  in  itself  is  an  excellent  remedy,  but  in  the  midst  of 
the  sweat  patients  frequently  plunge  into  cold  water,  thus  becoming 
thoroughly  chilled,  a  procedure  very  apt  to  bring  on  pneumonia,  to 
which  they  are  peculiarly  subject. 


Cann]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  37 

The  splenic  enlargement  is  treated  by  applying  a  number  of  small 
circular  blisters  (xacal)  containing  chichem  juice  to  the  skin,  over 
the  affected  organ,  which  seem  to  be  remarkably  efficacious  in  reduc- 
ing the  swelling. 

In  the  winter  when  the  nights  are  cold  the  Indians  often  lie  out 
all  night  in  the  wet,  a  practice  which  frequently  results  in  pneumonia 
and  death.  Hookworms  and  many  other  varieties  of  intestinal  para- 
sites are  prevalent,  owing  to  the  earth-eating  habits  of  the  children, 
the  earth  being  taken  usually  from  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
house,  where  pigs  and  other  domestic  animals  have  their  quarters. 
This  disgusting  habit  no  doubt  accounts  in  part  for  the  swollen  bellies 
and  earthy  color  of  many  of  the  children. 

Smallpox  (leak)  invading  an  Indian  village  is  a  terrible  scourge, 
far  worse  than  in  a  more  civilized  community  of  the  same  size,  where 
partial  immunity  has  been  acquired.  Sometimes  the  whole  unaffected 
population  depart  'en  masse,  leaving  the  dead  unburied  and  the 
stricken  lying  in  their  hammocks,  with  a  supply  of  food  and  water, 
to  do  the  best  they  can  for  themselves.  The  Indians  employ  the 
same  mode  of  treatment  for  this  disease  as  for  malarial  fever — 
sweating  followed  by  immersion  in  cold  water,  treatment  which,  it 
need  hardly  be  said,  is  not  infrequently  followed  by  disastrous  results. 

Venereal  diseases  of  all  kinds  are  remarkably  rare  among  all  the 
Indian  tribes.  Among  the  Santa  Cruz  and  Icaiche  such  diseases  were 
practically  unknown.  Even  among  the  mixed  breeds  of  British 
Honduras  they  are  comparatively  rare,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
these  natives  have  come  much  in  contact  with  people  of  many  other 
races,  especially  of  late  years  with  Mexican  Chicleros,  nearly  all  of 
whom  are  affected  with  venereal  disease  in  one  form  or  another. 

Simple  fractures  of  the  long  bones  are  set  very  neatly  and  skill- 
fully in  the  following  way:  The  fractured  limb  is  pulled  away 
from  the  body  with  considerable  force  in  order  to  overcome  the  dis- 
placement; over  the  fractured  bone  is  wound  a  thick  layer  of  cotton 
wool,  and  over  this  are  applied  a  number  of  small  round,  straight 
sticks,  completely  surrounding  the  limb,  their  centers  corresponding 
nearly  to  the  seat  of  fracture;  these  are  kept  in  place  by  a  firm 
binding  of  henequcn  cord.  The  limb,  if  an  arm,  is  supported  in  a 
sling;  if  a  leg,  the  patient  is  confined  to  his  hammock  till  the  fracture 
is  firmly  knit.  Excellent  results  are  secured  by  this  method,  the 
union  being  firm,  and  the  limb  nearly  always  uniting  in  good  position. 

Bleeding,  a  favorite  remedy  for  all  complaints,  is  especially  resorted 
to  in  eases  of  headache  and  malarial  fever.  Usually  the  temporal  vein, 
less  frequently  one  of  the  veins  in  the  front  of  the  forearm,  is  opened, 
having  been  first  distended  with  blood  by  tying  a  ligature  around 
the  upper  arm.  A  chip  of  obsidian,  a  sharp  splinter  of  bone,  or  a 
snakes   tooth,  serves  as  a   crude  lancet;   the  use  of  the  last  causes 


38  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

considerable  pain,  but  is  believed  to  have  some  esoteric  virtue  con- 
nected with  it. 

Decoctions  made  from  the  charred  carcasses  of  animals  at  one  time 
were  much  employed,  certain  animals  being  regarded  as  specifics 
for  certain  diseases.  Thus,  during  an  epidemic  of  whooping  cough 
{xinki  sen)  a  decoction  from  the  charred  remains  of  the  cane  rat 
was  almost  exclusively  given  to  the  children  to  relieve  the  cough, 
though  in  this  case  it  is  difficult  to  trace  the  connection  between 
the  remedy  and  the  disease. 

Many  eye  troubles  are  treated  by  placing  a  small  rough  seed 
beneath  the  lower  lid  of  the  affected  eye,  where  it  remains  for  a  day; 
when  the  seed  is  withdrawn  it  is  covered  with  mucus,  to  which  the 
doctor  points  as  the  injurious  matter,  the  cause  of  all  the  trouble, 
which  he  has  removed. 

Massage  is  practiced  chiefly  for  uterine  and  ovarian  pains  by  the 
older  women,  who  also  act  as  midwives;  it  is  used  also  in  conjunc- 
tion with  kneading  and  manual  manipulation  in  the  cure  of  neuralgic 
pains,  strains,  stiffness,  and  rheumatism. 

In  confinements,  which  usually  take  place  either  in  the  hammock 
or  on  the  floor,  the  dorsal  position  is  invariably  assumed.  In  such 
cases  also  massage  over  the  uterus  is  performed  by  the  midwife. 
If  the  desired  results  are  not  secured,  the  patient  is  made  to  vomit 
by  thrusting  a  long  coil  of  hair  down  her  throat,  while  a  woman  of 
exceptional  lung  power  is  sent  for  to  blow  into  her  mouth,  with 
the  object  of  hastening  delivery. 

The  Indians  use  for  medicinal  purposes  a  great  variety  of  plants 
which  grow  in  their  country;  some  of  these  are  purely  empirical 
remedies;  others  produce  definite  physiological  results  and  are 
frequently  used  with  good  effect,  while  a  few,  apparently  on  the 
assumption  that  "similia  similibus  curantur,"  are  employed  because 
of  some  fancied  resemblance  in  form  to  the  diseased  part,  as  xhudub 
pelc,  twin  seeds  of  the  size  of  small  eggs,  the  milky  juice  of  which  is 
used  as  an  external  application  for  enlarged  glands  and  for  various 
forms  of  orchitis. 

The  following  plants  are  used  medicinally  by  the  Indians  as 
remedies  for  the  diseases  named,  respectively: 

Acitz. — The  milky  juice  of  a  tree,  used  as  an  application  for  chronic  sores  and 
ulcers. 

Acam. — The  leaves  of  this  plant  are  applied  hot  to  reduce  the  swelling  and  relieve 
the  pain  in  enlargement  of  the  spleen  and  liver. 

Purgation  Xiu. — An  infusion  made  from  the  leaves  is  administered  warm  in 
bladder  and  urethral  troubles. 

Pakaal. — An  infusion  made  from  the  leaves  of  the  orange  tree  is  given  as  a  sudorific. 

Pichi. — A  paste  made  from  the  leaves  of  the  guava  is  applied  to  "bay  sore,-'  a 
specific  ulcer  somewhat  resembling  '"oriental  sore." 

Pomolche. — A  mouth  wash  made  from  the  milk  of  this  tree  is  used  in  cases  of  sto- 
matitis and  ulceration  of  the  mouth. 


6aNn]         MAYA  INDIAN'S  OF  YUCATAN  AJTD  BRITISH:  HONDURAS  39 

Quimbvmbo. — The  wild  okra  is  greatly  esteemed  as  an  external  application  in 
cases  of  snake  Lite. 

Sirim. — An  infusion  made  from  the  leaves  is  used  as  a  sudorific  in  cases  of  malarial 
fever. 

Sirilpuz. — A  yellowish  fruit  sometimes  used  as  a  purgative. 

Cabalvixoy. — The  fruit  of  this  tree  is  given  in  cases  of  diarrhea,  and  an  infusion 
made  from  the  bark  is  used  in  diarrhea  and  dysentery. 

Claudiosa  Xiu. — An  infusion  made  from  the  whole  1  ush  is  greatly  esteemed  as 
a  bath  and  lotion  in  all  uterine  and  ovarian,  complaints. 

Chalclie. — The  spinous  leaf  of  this  plant  is  used  as  a  local  application  to  relieve 
neuralgic  pains,  and  an  infusion  made  from  the  leaves  is  given  for  rheumatism. 

Chamico. — An  infusion  made  from  the  leaves  of  the  convolvulus  mixed  with  other 
leaves  is  given  to  relieve  asthma  and  bronchial  catarrh. 

Cltaac. — The  arrowroot,  eaten  raw,  is  regarded  as  a  useful  remedy  in  all  ldadder 
and  urethral  complaints. 

Cuzuc. — The  wood,  ground  into  a  paste,  is  applied  to  the  heads  of  small  children 
suffering  from  fever  and  convulsions. 

Ruda. — The  leaves  of  this  plant  are  universally  used  as  an  external  application 
for  children  suffering  from  convulsions,  and  frequently  in  the  same  Tnanner  for  the 
relief  of  almost  any  nervous  complaint  in  adults. 

Pica  pica.— A  sort  of  cowhage  which,  mixed  with  atol  or  some  corn  beverage,  is 
largely  used  as  a  vermifuge  for  children. 

Games 

Both  children  and  adults  play  many  games,  most  of  which  have 
probably  been  introduced  since  the  conquest.  A  favorite  among 
these  is  a  game  known  as  talc  in  hul,  in  which  a  number  of  players 
stand  in  a  row  with  their  hands  behind  their  backs  while  one,  who 
holds  a  small  pottery  disk  in  his  hand,  stands  behind  the  row,  another 
standing  in  front.  The  one  holding  the  disk  places  it  in  the  hands  of 
one  of  those  in  the  line,  who  in  turn  passes  it  to  his  neighbor,  so  that 
it  travels  rapidly  up  and  down  the  line.  The  player  in  front  has  to 
guess  in  whose  hand  the  disk  is  at  the  moment  of  guessing.  If  he  is 
right,  the  holder  of  the  disk  has  to  come  in  front  while  the  one  who 
guessed  correctly  joins  the  line. 

(liac  is  a  sort  of  "  knucklebones,"  played  with  pottery  disks,  which 
are  tossed  from  the  palm  to  the  back  of  the  hand  and  back  again ; 
the  one  who  drops  fewest  disks  in  a  given  number  of  double  throws 
wins  the  game. 

The  boys  make  little  bows  (pohoche)  and  arrows  (hul)  tipped  with 
black  wax,  with  which  they  play  war  and  hunting  games. 

A  seesaw  made  from  a  small  tree  balanced  on  a  stump  is  popular, 
as  is  also  a  sort  of  merry-go-round  constructed  from  a  cross  of  poles 
fixed  on  top  of  a  stump  by  means  of  a  wooden  pin,  which  rotates 
freely.  The  children  sit  at  the  extreme  ends  of  the  poles  and  make 
the  contrivance  rotate  by  kicking  against  the  ground  vigorously  at 
intervals  as  they  eo  around. 


40  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

The  bull  roarer,  made  from,  a  dry  seed  pod,  is  popular  in  some 
villages  and  is  probably  one  of  the  few  toys  used  by  the  natives 
before  the  conquest. 

Cricket,  baseball,  marbles,  kites,  and  spinning  tops  have  been 
introduced  among  the  Indians  of  British  Honduras,  and  all  have  their 
devotees. 

Religion 

The  Indians,  who  are  extremely  superstitious,  believe  that  the  air 
is  full  of  pishan,  or  souls  of  the  dead.  They  imagine  that  these 
souls  are  at  liberty  at  all  times  to  return  to  earth,  and  that  at  cer- 
tain seasons  they  are  compelled  to  do  so.  They  are  regarded  as 
being  capable  of  enjoying  the  spirit,  though  not  the  substance, 
of  food  or  drink  provided  for  them.  Some  of  these  pishan  the 
Indians  believe  to  be  friendly  and  some  inimical  to  mortals.  They 
believe  also  in  spirits,  usually  mischievous  or  harmful,  known  as 
xtabai,  who  often  take  the  form  of  beautiful  Women,  though  they 
have  never  been  human.  The  natives  will  whisper  a  message  into 
the  ear  of  a  corpse  with  the  certainty  of  having  it  conveyed  to  a 
friend  or  relative  in  the  next  world.  They  firmly  believe  that  the 
clay  images  of  the  gods  upon  incense  burners,  at  one  time  found  in 
considerable  numbers  in  forests  which  had  been  uncut  since  the  days 
of  their  ancestors,  live,  walk  about,  and  dance  at  certain  seasons. 
Another  belief  held  by  the  Indians  is  that  the  images  of  Christian 
saints  are  endowed  at  times  with  life  and  perform  acts  desired  by 
their  devotees.  A  celebrated  wooden  image,  supposed  to  represent 
San  Bernardo,  was  credited  with  considerable  powers  in  this  respect, 
and  when  an  Indian  wanted  rain  for  his  milpa,  the  return  of  an 
errant  wife,  or  any  similar  blessing,  he  would  come  and  pray  to 
the  image  to  obtain  it  for  him.  On  one  occasion  an  Indian  came 
asking  the  saint  to  aid  him  in  the  recovery  of  pigs  which  he  had 
lost,  and  on  returning  to  his  village  found  that  the  pigs  had  arrived 
home  before  him.  Next  day  he  returned  with  the  intention  of 
making  an  offering  to  the  saint,  and  incidentally  to  the  owner  of 
the  house  where  the  image  was  kept.  Ho  found  the  poor  Santo 
with  torn  clothes  and  many  burs  sticking  all  over  him.  On  inquir- 
ing how  this  happened  he  was  informed  that  the  saint  had  been 
out  in  the  bush  hunting  for  pigs,  a  quest  which  had  given  him 
a  great  deal  of  trouble  before  he  could  find  and  drive  them  home, 
and  that  when  he  got  back  he  was  tired  out,  his  clothes  torn  by 
thorns,  and  covered  with  burs — an  explanation  with  which  the 
Indian  was  perfectly  satisfied. 

The  men  are  very  unwilling  to  dig  either  in  ancient  mounds  or 
ruins,  as  they  are  afraid  of  being  haunted  by  the  pishan  of  those 
whose  remains  they  may  disturb;  and  nothing  will  induce  them  to 


oann]         MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  41 

go  into  caves  or  burial  chambers  in  mounds.  Many  curious  super- 
stitions hang  about  the  ruins  found  throughout  the  country.  I  was 
assured  by  an  Indian  at  Benque  Vie  jo  that  he  had  gone  on  one 
occasion  to  the  ruins  situated  near  the  village,  and  seeing  a  pigeon 
seated  on  a  tree,  raised  his  gun  to  shoot  it;  before  he  could  do  so, 
however,  the  pigeon  turned  into  a  cock,  and  this  almost  imme- 
diately into  an  eagle,  which  flew  at  him,  driving  him  away.  There 
is  another  superstition  about  these  ruins  to  the  effect  that  when 
the  first  settlers  came  to  Benque  Vie  jo  they  wished  to  build  the 
village  near  the  ruins,  where  the  land  is  very  good  for  growing  corn, 
but  were  repeatedly  driven  off  by  a  little  old  man  with  a  long  gray 
beard.  At  last,  giving  up  the  idea,  they  contented  themselves  with 
the  present  site  for  the  village. 

For  many  years,  between  the  expulsion  of  the  Yucatecans  from 
Bacalar  by  the  Indians  and  the  conquest  of  the  latter  by  the  Mexican 
troops,  some  12  years  ago,  no  Catholic  priests  were  permitted  to 
visit  the  Santa  Cruz  country.  The  Indians,  however,  appointed 
priests  from  among  themselves,  who  carried  out,  so  far  as  can  be 
ascertained  from  those  of  their  number  who  left  the  territory  and 
settled  in  British  Honduras,  a  sort  of  travesty  of  the  rites  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  freely  interspersed  with  many  of  those  of 
their  ancient  religion,  which  had  survived.  The  headquarters  of 
this  religious  cult  was  the  capital,  where  it  centered  around  what 
was  known  as  the  "Santa  Cruz,"  a  plain  wooden  cross,  2  to  3  feet 
high,  which  had  probably  been  removed  from  some  church  after 
the  expulsion  of  the  Spaniards.  This  cross  was  supposed  to  be 
gifted  with  the  power  of  speech  (a  belief  arising  no  doubt  from  the 
exercise  of  ventriloquial  powers  by  one  of  the  priests),  and  acted  as 
a  sort  of  oracle,  to  whom  all  matters  of  importance — civil,  military, 
and  religious — were  submitted  for  decision.  It  need  hardly  be  said 
that  the  cross  never  failed  to  return  an  answer  to  all  these  questions, 
in  entire  conformity  with  the  wishes  of  the  chief.1 


1  In  1859  a  mission  was  dispatched  by  the  superintendent  of  British  Honduras  to  the  chiefs  of  the  Santa 
Cruz,  with  the  object  of  rescuing  Spanish  prisoners  held  by  them.  The  following  account  is  from  "  A 
narrative  of  a  journey  across  the  unexplored  portion  of  British  Honduras,  with  a  sketch  of  the  history 
and  resources  of  the  colony,"  by  Henry  Fowler,  colonial  secretary  ( Belize,  1879): 

"That  night  as  usual  all  the  available  Indians  in  Bacalar  arrived  in  front  of  the  home  where  the  Santa 
Cruz  is  kept.  The  boy  attendants  or  sentries  on  the  idol,  called  angels,  were  in  front  of  it  and  the  drums 
and  bugles  sounded  at  recurring  parts  of  the  song.  The  chief  was  inside  with  the  image  and  the  angels. 
The  subordinate  chiefs  and  soldiers  knelt  outside,  and  did  not  rise  unt  il  the  service  was  over,  when  they 
crossed  themselves  and  rubbed  their  foreheads  in  the  dust.  About  11  o'clock  the  Indians  were  heard 
running  backward  and  forward,  and  an  order  was  given  to  bring  out  the  prisoners,  who  were  placed  in  a 
line  before  the  Santa  Cruz,  and  a  large  body  of  soldiers  wero  placed  with  them.  They  all  knelt  down  in 
the  road.  There  were  about  40  female  prisoners,  with  one  arm  tied  to  the  side,  and  12  or  14  men  pinioned 
by  both  arms.  All  were  calm,  except  the  children,  although  it  was  known  Santa  Cruz  was  pronouncing 
their  doom.  A  squeaking  whistling  noiso  was  heard  issuing  from  the  oracle,  and  when  it  ceased  it  was 
known  the  Santa  Cruz  wanted  a  higher  ransom  from  the  prisoners.    *    *    * 

"Some  of  the  women  and  children  were  separated  from  the  re<t,  amongst  whom  was  a  young  Spanish 
girl  well  known  in  high  circles.  A  procession  was  then  formed  and  marched  off  to  the  east  gate;  first  came 
a  strong  body  of  troops,  then  alternately  in  Indian  file,  a  male  prisoner  and  his  executioner,  who  drove  nim 
on  with  his  machete,  holding  him  by  a  rope;  next  came  the  women,  35  in  number,  driven  and  held  in  a 


42  BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY  [bcix.  64 

The  Indians  here  under  consideration  occupy  an  intermediate 
position  between  the  civilized  Maya  of  northern  Yucatan,  who 
have  lost  nearly  all  tradition  and  traces  of  their  former  civilization, 
and  the  Lacandones  of  the  Usumasintla  Valley,  who  have  probably 
changed  but  little  in  their  customs  and  religious  observances  since 
the  conquest.  Nominally  they  are  Christians,  but  the  longer  one 
lives  among  them,  and  the  better  one  gets  to  know  them,  the  more 
he  realizes  that  their  Christianity  is  to  a  great  extent  merely  a  thin 
veneer,  and  that  fundamentally  their  religious  conceptions  and  even 
their  ritual  and  ceremonies  are  survivals — degenerate,  much  changed, 
and  with  most  of  their  significance  lost — but  still  survivals  of  those 
of  their  ancestors  of  pre-Columbian  days.  To  Christianity,  not  as 
a  separate  religion,  but  as  a  graft  on  that  which  they  already  prac- 
ticed, they  seem  to  have  taken  kindly  from  the  first;  and  at  the 
present  day,  as  will  be  seen,  the  sun  god,  the  rain  god,'  St.  Laurence, 
and  Santa  Clara  may  all  be  invoked  in  the  same  prayer,  while  the 
Cross  is  substituted  in  most  of  the  ceremonies  for  the  images  of  the 
old  gods,  though  many  of  the  latter  are  called  on  by  name.  The 
four  principal  religious  ceremonies  of  the  Indians  are,  as  might  be 
supposed,  closely  associated  with  agriculture,  especially  with  the 
corn  crop.  The  first  of  these  ceremonies  takes  place  at  the  cutting 
of  the  bush  in  which  the  corn  plantation  is  to  be  made,  the  second 
at  the  planting  of  the  corn,  the  third  during  its  ripening,  and  the 
fourth  at  harvest  time.  Of  these  the  third,  known  as  the  Cha  chac, 
which  takes  place  during  the  ripening  of  the  corn,  and  whose  object 
is  to  secure  sufficient  rain  for  that  purpose,  is  by  far  the  most  impor- 
tant, and  it  alone  will  be  described,  as  it  embraces  the  offerings  and 
ritual  of  all  the  other  ceremonies. 

The  day  previous  to  the  ceremony  the  men  of  the  family  prepared 
the  pib,  an  oblong  hole  in  the  ground,  in  which  the  various  corn 
offerings  were  to  be  baked,  while  during  the  night  the  women  were 
busy  grinding  corn  to  make  masa  (a  thick  paste  of  ground  maize) 
and  pumpkin  seeds  to  make  sikil.  Very  early  in  the  morning  of 
the  day  of  the  ceremony  the  priest  with  his  assistant  arrived  at  the 
house  of  the  giver.  This  priest  called  himself  men,  but  was  called 
by  the  owner  a  chac,  while  the  Chichanha  priest  called  himself  an 
ah  kin.  The  Indians  chose  a  site  in  the  midst  of  a  grove  of 
large  trees.  After  clearing  away  the  undergrowth  they  swept  clean 
a  circular  space  about  25  feet  in  diameter.     In  this  they  proceeded 

similar  manner;  then  another  body  of  soldiers  closed  the  rear;  the  Englishmen  were  not  allowed  to  follow. 
The  procession  halted  under  a  clump  of  trees  about  150  yards  off.  And  soon  the  butchery  commenced; 
shrieks  wero  heard,  but  in  10  minutes  all  was  over. 

"The  Santa  Cruz  was  mixed  up  with  some  Catholic  rites,  but  retains  the  leading  characteristics  of  the 
god  who  was  best  propitiated  by  placing  bleeding  human  hearts  within  his  lips." 

In  1863  the  Icaiche  were  beaten  by  the  Santa  Cruz,  and,  says  the  chronicler:  "  The  account  of  the 
slaughter  and  human  sacrifice  made  on  that  occasion  is  appalling." 


gann]         MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  43 

to  erect  two  rude  huts,  one  12  feet  the  other  6  feet  square;  both 
were  thatched  with  huano  leaf,  and  the  floor  of  the  smaller  hut 
was  covered  with  wild  plantain  leaves.  In  the  center  of  the  larger 
hut  was  erected  a  rough  altar  6  by  4  feet  and  4  feet  6  inches  high,  built 
of  sticks  bound  together  with  bejuco  (fig.  11).     The  central  part  of  this 


Fiq.  11.— Chiehanhu  Indi;m  priest,  in  front  of  altar  at  Cba  chac  ceremony. 

ultar  was  covered  by  an  arch  of  "jabin"  branches  with  the  leaves 
still  attached.  About  a  dozen  small  calabashes  in  their  ring  supports 
(Maya  cliuyub)  were  placed  on  the  altar,  and  three  more  were  hung 
to  a  string  passing  from  the  side  of  the  shed  to  a  post  a  few  yards 
away.  The  masa  prepared  the  previous  night  was  then  brought 
out  in  four  large  calabashes,  two  of  these  being  placed  under  the  altar 


44 


BUREAU   OF  AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  64 


and  two  on  top  of  it ;  a  large  calabash  of  silcil  and  one  of  water  were 
also  placed  on  the  altar  and  a  jar  of  balche  (a  drink  made  of  fermented 
honey  in  which  is  soaked  the  bark  of  a  tree)  beneath  it.  Beneath  the 
suspended  calabashes  was  placed  a  small  table  containing  piles  of 
tortillas  and  calabashes  of  masa  and  water.  In  carrying  out  this 
ceremony  it  is  essential  that  everything  used  in  it  be  perfectly  fresh 
and  new;  the  leaves,  sticks,  bejuco,  and  jabin  must  be  freshly  cut, 
and  the  masa,  silcil,  balche,  and  even  the  calabashes  must  be  freshly 
made.     The  masa  was  taken  from  the  large  to  the  small  shed,  where 

the  priest  and  several 
male  members  of  the 
family  sat  around  it. 
After  flattening  out  a 
small  ball  of  the  masa 
the  priest  placed  it  on 
a  square  of  plantain 
leaves  and  poured 
over  it  a  little  silcil 
(a  thin  paste  made  of 
ground  pumpkin  seed 
an  d  wa  ter) .  Then  the 
next  man  flattened  out 
a  piece  of  masa,  which 
he  placed  over  the 
silcil,  and  the  process 
was  continued  until  a 
cake  was  formed  con- 
taining 5  to  13  alter- 
nating layers  of  masa 
and  silcil.  On  top  of 
each  cake,  as  it  was 
completed,  the  priest 
traced  with  his  fore- 
finger a  cross  sur- 
rounded with  holes; 
these  were  first  partly 
filled  with  balche,  which  was  allowed  to  soak  into  the  cake,  after 
which  they  were  filled  completely  with  silcil,  whereupon  the  whole 
cake  was  carefully  tied  up  in  plantain  leaf,  with  an  outer  cover- 
ing of  palm  leaf  (fig.  12).  These  cakes  are  known  as  tutiua;  their 
number  is  generally  gauged  by  the  number  of  participants  in  the 
ceremony.  When  silcil  is  not  available,  a  paste  of  ground  black 
beans  is  used;  in  this  case  the  cakes  are  known  as  buliua  (Maya 
bul,  "bean";  ua,  " bread").  The  priest  next  made  a  deep 
depression  in  a  ball  of  masa  about  the  size  of  a  tennis  ball,  which  he 
filled  with  silcil,  covering  it  with  the  masa,  so  as  to  leave  a  ball  of 


Fig.  12.— Priest  tracing  cross  on  cake  and  filling  it  in  with  sikil. 


GANN] 


MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


45 


masa  with  a  core  of  sikil.  A  number  of  these  balls,  known  as  yofcua, 
were  made,  each  wrapped  in  plantain  leaves.  When  finished,  all  of 
them  were  wrapped  in  a  large  palm  leaf  and  tied  into  a  bundle  with 
split  palm-leaf  strands.  Two  more  tutiua  were  next  made,  and  lastly 
all  the  masa  and  sikil  left  were  mixed  together  with  a  few  ounces  of 
salt.  After  being  well  kneaded  this  mass  was  divided  into  two  por- 
tions, each  of  which  was  tied  up  in  plantain  and  palm  leaf  coverings. 
In  the  meantime  some  members  of  the  family  had  filled  the  pib  or 


Fig.  13.— Sacrificing  a  turkey  at  the  Cha  chac  ceremony. 


oven  with  firewood,  over  which  they  placed  a  layer  of  small  blocks 
of  stone.  The  priest  next  made  a  bowl  of  saclta  (literally  "white  water," 
a  drink  made  from  ground  corn  and  water),  with  which  he  filled 
the  small  calabashes  on  the  altar,  as  well  as  the  suspended  calabashes ; 
these  he  explained  were  for  the  tuyun  pishan,  or  solitary  souls.  A 
turkey  and  four  fowls  were  then  placed  in  front  of  the  altar,  alive, 
while  the  priest  lighted  a  black  wax  candle  by  blowing  a  piece  of 
glowing  wood  to  a  flame;  this  candle  lie  placed  upon  the  altar.  He 
next  took  up  the  turkey,  around  whose  neck  the  assistant  had  placed 


46  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  G4 

a  wreath  of  jabin  leaves,  and  poured  a  little  balche  down  its  throat, 
its  legs  being  held  by  the  assistant  (fig.  13),  While  doing  this  the 
priest  murmured  the  following  prayer : 

In  kubic  ti  hahnal  cichpan  colel,  ti  San  Pedro,  San  Pablo,  San  Francisco. 

Translation 
I  offer  a  repast  to  the  beautiful  mistress,  to  San  Pedro,  San  Pablo,  San  Francisco. 

The  turkey  and  the  other  fowls  were  thert  killed  by  having  their 
necks  wrung,  and  the  carcasses  of  all  five  were  removed  to  the 
house  to  be  prepared  by  the  women.  The  various  bundles  of  masa 
and  sikil  in  their  leaf  coverings  were,  next  removed  to  the  pib,  where 
the  fire  had  burned  itself  out,  leaving  the  hole  half  full  of  ashes 
and  red-hot  stones.  A  lining  of  plantain  bark  was  laid  over  the 
stones,  upon  which  the  bundles  were  arranged;  over  these  were 
placed  more  hot  stones  and  over  the  latter  palm  leaves;  lastly,  the 
earth  which  had  been  dug  from  the  pib  was  raked  over  all.  The 
priest  next  took  a  small  quantity  of  the  sacha  from  a  calabash,  in 
a  jabin  leaf,  and  scattered  it  on  the  ground  in  three  •  directions, 
meanwhile  murmuring  this  prayer: 

Cin  kubic  ti  atepalob,  ti  noli  yum  kab  yetel  uahmetan,  atepalob,  tiaca  tzib  nah. 

Translation 

I  offer  to  the  majestic  ones,  to  the  great  lord,  corn  cake,  great  ones.  [Tiaca  tzib 
nah  is  somewhat  obscure.  The  reading,  according  to  Don  Juan  Martinez,  of  Merida, 
should  be  tia  ca  oib-nah.~\ 

Afterward  the  priest  repeated  the  performance  with  sacha  from 
the  calabashes  on  the  altar,  and  lastly  with  some  from  the  cala- 
bashes of  the  tuyun  pishan.  The  sacha  was  then  distributed  in 
calabashes  to  the  participants,  it  being  essential  that  every  drop  of 
it  be  drunk.  After  a  wait  of  about  an  hour  all  proceeded  to  the 
pib,  which,  after  it  had  been  sprinkled  by  the  priest  with  balche 
from  a  small  calabash,  was  opened.  The  red-hot  leaf-wrapped 
bundles  were  carried  to  the  small  shed,  where  the  coverings  were 
removed,  exposing  the  tutiua  and  yokua,  crisp,  brown,  and  hot. 
These  were  placed  upon  the  altar,  with  the  exception  of  one  tutiua, 
which  was  tied  to  the  string  holding  the  calabashes  of  the  tuyun 
pishan.  The  cakes  made  from  the  remainder  of  the  masa  and  sikil 
were  now  crumbled  into  a  large  calabash  and  mixed  with  another 
large  calabash  of  Jcool  (a  reddish  liquid  made  from  water,  ground 
corn,  black  pepper,  and  achiote).  The  two  mixtures  were  stirred 
with  a  peeled  wand  of  jabin  till  they  formed  a  thick  paste  known 
as  sopas.  While  the  sopas  was  being  made  the  hearts,  heads,  and  intes- 
tines of  the  fowls  were  removed  to  the  pib  where  they  were  buried,  lest 
some  animal  by  eating  them  should  defile  the  offering.  The  cooked 
and  dismembered  turkey  and  other  fowls  were  brought  out  to  the 
small  shed  in  calabashes;  the  livers,  gizzards,  and  immature  eggs 
were  chopped  up  fine  and  well  mixed  with  the  sopas.     A  small 


oann]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  47 

calabash  full  of  this  mixture  was  placed  with  the  calabashes  of  the 
tuyun  pishan,  while  the  rest,  in  a  large  calabash,  the  fowls'  claws 
standing  upright  in  it,  was  placed  upon  the  altar,  together  with  the 
dismembered  birds  wrapped  in  a  clean  cotton  cloth.  The  priest 
next  removed  some  halche  from  the  jar  and  filled  a  calabash,  which 
ho  placed  upon  the  altar,  as  he  did  so  murmuring  these  prayers: 

Ea,  in  cichpan  cole!  kanleoox,  yetel  bacan  tech  in  cichkelem  tat  yum  San  Isidro, 
ah  kolkal,  yetel  bacan  tech  yum  kankin,  culucbalech  ti  likin,  yetel  bacan  in  chant- 
tupchaac,  culucbal  chumuc  caan,  ti  likin,  yetel  bacan  yum  canchaacoob;  kin  kubic 
yetel  bacan  ahooil  atepalo  chumuc  caan,  yetel  bacan  tech  in  cichkelem  tata  ahcanan 
kakabool,  yetel  bacan  tech  in  cichkelem  tata  Cakaal  Uxmal,  yetel  bacan  tech  in 
cichpan  colel  Santa  Clara,  yetel  bacan  tech  in  cichkelem  tata  yum  xualakinik, 
yetel  bacan  tech  in  cichpan  colel  Xhelik,  yetel  bacan  tech  in  cichkelem  tatayum 
Santo  Lorenzo,  yetel  bacan  tech  in  cichpan  colel  Guadelupe,  yetel  bacan  tech  tun 
yum  Mosonikoob,  meyahnaheex  ichil  cool  kat  tocah.  Cin  kubic  bacan  letie  Santo 
Gracia,  utial  a  nahmateex,  yetel  bacan  tech  u  nohchi  Santo  uai  yokol  cab  halibe 
in  yuraen  sates  ten  in  cipil.  Minan  a  tzul  pachkeech  letie  Santo  Pishan,  Ooki  in 
mentic  letie  Santo  Promicia. 

Translation 

Now  my  beautiful  lady  of  the  yellow-leaf  breadnut,  as  well  as  you,  my  handsome 
father  San  Isidro,  tiller  of  the  earth;  as  well  as  you,  lord  sun,  who  art  seated  at  the 
east;  as  well  as  you,  Chanttupchaac,  who  art  seated  in  the  middle  of  the  heavens, 
in  the  east;  as  well  as  you,  Yumcanchaacoob :  I  deliver  to  you,  with  the  majestic 
servants  in  the  middle  of  the  heavens.  As  well  as  you,  my  handsome  father,  Ahca- 
nankakabool;  as  well  as  you,  my  handsome  father  Cakaal  I'xmaal;  as  well  as  you,  my 
beautiful  lady  Santa  Clara;  as  well  as  you,  my  handsome  father  Xualakinik;  as  well 
as  you,  my  beautiful  lady  Xhelik;  as  well  as  you,  my  handsome  father  San  Lorenzo; 
as  well  as  you,  my  beautiful  lady  of  Guadelupe;  as  well  as  you,  Lord  Mosonicoob, 
that  blows  within  the  milpa  when  it  is  burnt.  I  deliver  then  to  you  this  Holy  Grace, 
that  you  may  taste  it,  and  because  you  are  the  greatest  Santos  on  earth.  That  is  all 
my  master.  Pardon  my  sins;  you  have  not  to  follow  the  holy  souls,  because  I  have 
made  this  holy  offering. 

Cin  Kubic  ti  nah  tatail,  ti  u  cahil  San  Roque,  u  cahil  Patch acan,  ti  Chan  Sapote. 

Translation 

I  offer  you,  great  father,  for  your  town  of  San  Roque,  your  town  of  Patchacan,  and 
Chan  Sapote. 

The  assistant  then  brought  up  some  burning  incense  (pom)  on  a 
piece  of  plantain  bark,  which  the  priest  took,  and  after  waving  it  about 
for  a  short  time  placed  it  upon  the  altar,  after  which  he  dipped  out  a 
small  portion  of  halche  and  scattered  it  in  three  directions,  murmur- 
ing while  doing  so  the  following  prayer: 

Noh  Xali  ti  Uxmal,  ti  atepaloob  Ixeabaeh  Chen  Maui,  ti  Xpanterashan,  Charanchi, 
Chacantoe,  ti  Xnocachan,  Xcunya,  Yaxutzub,  Yaxaban,  ti  atepaloob. 

Translation 

Greal  house  of  Uxmal,  of  the  majestic  Ixeabaeh,  Chen  Maui,  of  Xpanterashan, 
Chacanchi,  Chacantoe,  of  Xnocachan  Xcunya,  Yaxatzub  Yaxaban  <>f  the  majestic 

OIK'S. 


48  BUREAU   OF  AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  Iblll.  g4,  gann] 

A  small  portion  of  balche  was  next  passed  around  to  each  of  the 
participants,  the  priest  again  scattering  a  little  on  the  ground  and 
repeating  the  prayer.  The  calabash,  which  was  now  nearly  empty, 
was  then  removed  to  the  house  for  the  benefit  of  the  women.  It 
was  soon  brought  back  by  the  assistant  and  refilled  from  the  jar, 
and  the  same  procedure  gone  through  again.  This  was  repeated  till 
no  more  balche  remained  to  be  drunk.  The  priest  then  scattered  some 
of  the  sopas  in  four  directions,  using  one  of  the  fowls'  claws  to  scoop 
it  up  from  the  calabash,  after  which  what  remained  of  the  sopas  was 
divided  up  among  the  participants,  each  one  being  given  a  calabash 
in  which  a  fowl's  claw  was  placed  for  use  as  a  fork.  A  small  quantity 
of  the  mixture  which  remained  was  taken  to  the  house  for  use  of  the 
women.  Lastly  the  priest  removed  the  tutiua  and  yokua  from  the 
altar,  and  divided  these  among  the  participants,  giving  each  one  at 
the  same  time  a  corn-husk  cigarette.  The  ceremony  was  now 
finished,  and  the  last  act  was  completely  to  destroy  all  the  objects 
used  in  it,  including  buildings,  altar,  calabashes,  and  chuyubs;  this 
was  done  by  fire. 

This  Cha  chac  ceremony  as  performed  by  the  Santa  Cruz  and 
Icaiche  Indians  bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  certain  ceremonies 
performed  before  the  conquest,  in  honor  of  the  Chacs,  or  Rain  gods, 
and  also  to  ceremonies  carried  out  at  the  present  day  by  the  Lacandon 
Indians. 

The  names  given  to  the  modern  priests  were,  according  to  Landa, 
all  in  use  in  his  day.  The  Chacs  were  four  old  men  chosen  to  assist 
the  priests.1  The  men  was  an  inferior  priest  or  sorcerer,  while  the 
name  Ahkin  2  was  applied  after  the  conquest,  both  to  their  own  and 
to  Christian  priests  by  the  Maya.  Landa  also  mentions  (Chap,  xl, 
p.  260)  a  fiesta  given  to  the  Chacs,  in  conjunction  with  other  gods, 
held  in  one  of  the  plantations,  when  the  offerings  were  consumed  by 
the  people  after  being  first  presented  to  the  gods;  these  offerings 
consisted  of  turkeys  and  other  fowls,  corn  cake,  siJcil,  and  posol,3  all 
of  which  are  used  in  the  modern  Maya  Cha  chac. 

The  god  Yumcanchacoob  (Lord  of  all  the  Chacs)  of  the  Santa 
Cruz  probably  corresponds  to  Nohochyumchac  (Great  Lord  Chac) 
of  the  Lacandones,  as  does  the  Ahcanankakabol  (keeper  of  the 
woods)  of  the  Santa  Cruz,  to  the  Kanancash  of  the  Lacandones, 
whose  name  has  practically  the  same  significance.  A  belief  in 
Xtabai,  or  spirits,  and  Ilcoob,  or  Wind  gods,  seems  common  alike 
to  the  Santa  Cruz,  the  Lacandones,  and  the  Indians  of  Yucatan. 

1  "Los  chaces  eran  quatro  hombres  ancianos  elegidos  siempre  de  nuevo  para  ayudar  al  sacerdote  a  bien 
y  complidamente  hazer  las  fiestas." — Landa,  op.  cit.,  chap,  xxvn,  p.  160. 

3  "  En  contrario  llamavanse  y  se  Hainan  oy  los  sacerdotes  en  esta  lengua  de  Maya  Ahkin,  que  se  deriva 
de  un  verbo  kinyah.  que  significa  'sortear  6  eshar  suertes.'" — Landa,  ibid.,  p.  302. 

3  Landa,  ibid.,  chaps,  xxxv,  p.  212;  xxxvi,  p.  222. 


PART  2.    MOUND  EXCAVATION  IN  THE  EASTERN  MAYA  AREA 


INTRODUCTION 
Classification  of  the  Mounds 

In  the  following  pages  is  a  description  of  the  mounds  opened 
during  the  last  few  years  in  that  part  of  the  Maya  area  now  con- 
stituting British  Honduras,  the  southern  part  of  Yucatan,  and  the 
eastern  border  of  Guatemala  (pi.  7) .  For  descriptive  purposes  these 
mounds  may  be  divided,  according  to  their  probable  uses,  into  six 
main  groups: 

1.  Sepulchral  Mounds. — This  group  includes  mounds  which,  orig- 
inally constructed  for  other  purposes,  were  afterwards  used  as  burial 
sites. 

2.  Refuse  Mounds. — This  group  includes  kitchen  middens,  shell 
heaps,  deposits  of  waste  material  remaining  after  the  manufacture 
of  lime,  and  heaps  of  stones  gathered  from  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

3.  Foundation  Mounds. — As  the  buildings  themselves  invariably 
stood  on  the  summits  of  flat-topped  mounds,  such  mounds,  capped 
with  the  debris  of  the  earlier  structures,  formed  the  bases  of  later 
ones. 

4-  Defensive  Mounds. — Some  of  these  mounds  were  crescent-shaped ; 
others  were  in  the  form  of  a  horseshoe. 

5.  Lookout  Mounds. — These  mounds  extend  in  chains,  at  intervals 
of  6  to  12  miles,  along  the  coast  and  up  some  of  the  rivers;  they  are 
lofty,  steep-sided,  and  usually  form  the  nuclei  of  groups  of  other 
mounds.  As  a  rule  they  contain  neither  human  remains  nor  arti- 
facts, thougli  in  one  or  two  of  them  superficial  interments  seem  to 
have  been  made  at  a  comparatively  late  date. 

6.  Mounds  of  Uncertain  Use.  —  No  trace  of  human  interment  was 
found  in  these  mounds.  Many  of  (hem  are  too  small  at  the  summit 
to  have  supported  buildings,  and  it  seems  probable  that  they  are 
sepulchral  mounds,  in  which  no  stone,  pottery,  or  other  indestruct- 
ible objects  were  placed  with  the  corpse,  and  in  which  the  bones 
have  entirely  disintegrated.  The  larger  mounds  of  this  class,  many 
of  them  flat  topped,  are  carefully  constructed  of  blocks  of  limestone, 
marl  dust,  and  earth,  and  no  doubt  at  one  time  served  as  bases  for 
buildings  either  small  temples  or  houses  -which,  being  built  of 
wood,  have  long  since  vanished. 

70806°      IS     Bull.  G4 4  .  49 


50  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY   '  [bull.  64 

Most  of  the  mounds  are  distributed  in  small  and  large  groups, 
the  latter  usually  containing  one  or  more  examples  of  each  class, 
the  former  consisting  for  the  greater  part  of  small  burial  mounds, 
probably  of  late  date,  as  they  are  less  carefully  constructed  than  the 
mounds  of  the  larger  groups,  and  the  objects  which  they  contain  are 
of  rougher  and  cruder  workmanship. 

The  burial  mounds  comprise  more  than  half  of  all  the  mounds 
opened,  followed  in  order  of  numbers  by  (a)  foundation  mounds; 
(b)  mounds  of  uncertain  use;  (c)  refuse  mounds;  (d)  lookout  mounds; 
(e)  defensive  mounds. 

It  has  been  found  that,  as  a  rule,  rich  land  contains  many  mounds; 
poor  land,  fewer;  and  sour-grass  savannah,  pine  ridge,  and  swamp, 
none  at  all.  The  better  the  land  the  more  numerous  the  mounds 
scattered  over  it,  as  is  natural,  since  the  more  fertile  the  land  the 
denser  the  population  it  would  sustain.  Not  all  the  mounds  opened 
have  been  described,  as  small  burial  mounds,  especially  in  the  same 
group,  in  both  construction  and  contents,  resemble  one  another 
closely,  as  do  foundation  mounds  also. 

This  part  of  the  Maya  area  must  either  have  been  occupied  during 
a  very  considerable  period  or  at  one  time  must  have  supported  a 
dense  population,  as  wherever  it  is  possible  to  cultivate  the  soil, 
especially  to  raise  maize,  mounds  are  to  be  found  in  great  abundance; 
moreover,  the  surface  everywhere  bears  such  indestructible  rubbish  as 
potsherds,  flint  chips,  and  fragments  of  obsidian  knives.  It  would 
probably  be  impossible  to  find  anywhere  in  this  area  an  acre  of 
moderately  good  land  on  which  dozens  of  such  objects  could  not 
be  discovered.  This  indicates  that  what  is  now  dense  tropical  bush, 
with  a  few  small  Indian  villages  scattered  through  it  at  considerable 
intervals,  was  at  one  time  a  highly  cultivated  and  thickly  populated 
country. 

Referring  to  Yucatan  before  the  conquest,  Landa  uses  the  words, 
"toda  la  tierra  parescia  un  pueblo;'' *  while 200  years  after  the  con- 
quest Villagutierre  2  mentions  by  name  10  tribes  with  whom  the  Itzas 
were  at  war,  who  lived  to  the  east  of  the  lagoon,  nine  days'  journey 
away — in  a  region  corresponding  to  the  territory  of  coastal  tribes  of 
British  Honduras  and  Quintana  Roo. 

1  Que  estas  gentes  tuvieron  mas  de  XX  aiios  de  abundancia  y  de  salud  y  se  multiplicaron  tanto  que  toda 
la  tierra  parescia  un  pueblo,  y  que  entonces  se  labraron  los  templos  en  tanta  muchedumbre,  como  se  vee  oy 
en  dia  por  todas  partes  y  que  atravesando  por  montes  se  veen  entre  las  arboledas  assientos  de  casas  y  edificios 
labrados  a  maravilla.— Landa,  op.  cit.,  p.  58. 

2  Q  ue  en  Afios  passados  tuvieron  quatro  Batallas  con  los  Indios  Aycales  (que  son  los  Mopanes)  Chinamitas, 
y  Tulunquies,  y  Taxchinchan,  Nob,  y  Acabob,  Zuacuanob,  Ahtimob,  Teyucunob,  Ahchemob,  Ahcamulob. 
.  .  .  y  que  todas  estas  Xaciones  estavan  viviendo  juntas  al  Leste,  u  Oriente,  y  que  de  aquel  Peten,  a  sus 
Poblaciones,  avia  nueve  dias  de  Camino,  que  era  el  que  ellos  gastavan  en  ir  a  ellas.— Villagutierre, 
Historia  de  la  conquista  de  la  provincia  de  el  Itza,  p.  554. 


gaxx]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  51 

Ancient  Inhabitants  of  the  Region 

From  the  contents  of  the  mounds  we  are  able  to  deduce  many  valu- 
able facts  relating  to  the  physical  appearance,  social  life,  religion,  and 
art  of  the  former  inhabitants  of  this  area. 

PHYSICAL    APPEARANCE 

A  very  accurate  idea  of  the  physical  appearance  of  these  people 
may  be  derived  from  the  figurines,  paintings,  stucco  moldings,  and 
skeletons  found  in  the  mounds.  It  would  appear  that  they  very 
closely  resembled  the  modern  Maya  Indians.1  They  were  broad 
of  face,  with  small  features  and  rather  high  cheek  bones;  without 
beard  or  mustache,  but  with  straight,  black,  coarse  hair,  which  was 
allowed  by  both  men  and  women  to  grow  long. 

The  skull  was  naturally  brachicephalic,  and  as  this  characteristic 
was  (and  is  now  by  the  Maya)  admired,  it  seems  to  have  been  almost 
invariably  accentuated  artificially  by  pressure  applied  over  the  occipi- 
tal and  frontal  regions  during  early  infancy.2  The  average  cephalic 
index  of  eight  skulls  removed  from  the  mounds  was  found  to  be  110. 
The  following  list  gives  the  average  lengths  of  a  number  of  bones  of 
adults  taken  from  the  mounds,  though  in  no  case  were  all  the  bones 
of  one  individual  found  hi  a  sufficiently  perfect  condition  to  permit  of 
their  accurate  measurement: 

Humerus,  29.21  cm. 

Ulna,  25.38  cm. 

First  phalanx  (little  finger),  3.04  cm. 

Femur,  36.83  cm. 

Tibia,  33.27  cm. 

Metatarsal  bone  of  great  toe,  5.33  cm. 

The  bones  are  small,  the  ridges  for  muscular  attachment  not  well 
marked,  and  the  phalanges,  metacarpal,  and  metatarsal  bones  small 
and  delicate,  indicating  a  body  with  rounded  contours,  poor  muscular 
development,  and  small  extremities.  The  front  teeth  in  some  cases 
were  filed,  in  others  filled  with  round  plugs  of  obsidian,  iron  pyrites. 
orjadeite,  for  ornamental  purposes. 

1  Son  en  lo  personal,  ostos  Indios  Itzaex,  bien  apes t ados;  color  triguefio,  mas  claro  que  el  de  los  de  Yuca- 
tan. Son  agiles,  y  de  buenos  cuerpos,  y  rostros,  aunque  algunos  se  los  rayavan,  |>or  senates  de  valentia. 
Traian  las  Cabelleras  lariras,  quanto  pueden  crezer:  V  assi,  cs  lo  mas  diflcultoso  en  los  Indios  el  rediuirlos 
A  cortarles  el  pelo;  porque  e!  traerlo  largo,  es  serial  de  Idolatria.    Villaoutierre,  op.  fit.,  p.  -I')*. 

i^ne  los  Indios  ile  Yucatan  son  bien  dLspuestos  y  altos  y  rezios  y  de  muchas  (uercas. — Landa,  op.  cit., 
p  112. 

Que  las  itnMas  criavan  sus  hljitos  en  toda  osperezn  y  desnudez  del  mundo,  porque  a  cuntn>  o  cinco  dins 
nacida  la  criatura  la  poidan  tendlditn  en  un  lecho  pequeno  hecho  do  varillas,  y  alii  boca  aliaxo  le  ponian 
entrfl  dos  tablillas  la  calirea.  la  una  en  el  colodrillo,  \  la  otro  en  la  finite,  enl  rv  las  <  males  se  le  nppretav  an 
reciamento  y  le  tenian  alii  pndeciendo  hasta  que  aenbados  algunos  dias  le  quedava  la  caUva  liana  y  enmol- 
dada  como  lo  u  avail  touos  ellos. — Laxda,  oj>.  i  it .,  p.  ISO. 


52  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

DRESS 

Among  the  lower  elass  the  men  seem  to  have  worn  no  garment 
except  the  maxili,  consisting  of  a  loin-cloth  wound  several  times 
around  the  waist,  the  ends  hanging  down  in  front  and  behind,  like 
small  aprons.  The  women  wore  two  garments,  similar  to  those  of 
the  modern  Maya,  the  Jiuipil,  or  loose,  sleeveless  upper  garment  reach- 
ing to  the  hips  (at  the  present  this  is  worn  longer,  reaching  well  below 
the  knees)  and  a  short,  loose  skirt,  both  of  cotton,  and  both  embroid- 
ered in  colors  at  the  borders.1  The  warriors  wore  in  addition  to  the 
maxtli  a  breastplate  of  thick  quilted  cotton,  saturated  with  salt, 
arrow  and  spear  proof,  and  ornamented  with  bows,  studs,  and  tassels. 
To  its  upper  border  was  attached  a  hollow  bar,  through  which  passed 
a  cord,  continued  round  the  back  of  the  neck,  holding  the  breastplate 
in  place. 

Both  warriors  and  priests  wore  very  elaborate  headdresses.  Those 
of  the  former  were  decorated  with  plumes  of  feathers  and  many  of 
them  held  in  front  the  head  of  some  animal  carved  in  wood,2  as  the 
jaguar,  eagle,  peccary,  snake,  or  alligator.  Some  of  the  headdresses  of 
the  priests  were  shaped  like  a  bishop's  miter,  while  others  resembled  the 
Egyptian  headdress.  All  classes  wore  sandals  of  leather  or  platted 
henequen  fiber.  The  ornaments  worn  consisted  of  large  circular  ear 
plugs  of  shell,  greenstone,  or  pottery,  many  with  a  tassel  dependent 
from  the  center;  studlike  labrets  at  each  side  of  the  mouth; 
and  occasional  triangular  ornaments  attached  on  each  ala  of  the 
nose.  Round  the  neck  were  worn  strings  of  beads,  some  in  the 
form  of  human  or  animal  heads,  others  with  a  gorget  of  greenstone 
or  shell  in  the  form  of  a  human  mask  dependent  from  them. 
Wristlets  and  anklets  of  large  oval  beads,  fastened  with  ornamental 
loops,  were  common,  and  copper  finger  rings  have  been  found  on  two 
occasions,  though  it  is  possible  that  these  may  not  have  been  intro- 
duced till  after  the  conquest.  Among  the  upper  classes  the  orna- 
ments were  made  from  jade,  greenstone,  iron  pyrites,  obsidian, 
mother-of-pearl,  and  copper;  among  the  lower,  from  pottery,  shell, 
and  stone. 

WEAPONS 

The  offensive  weapons  of  the  natives  here  dealt  with  consisted  of 
flint  and  obsidian  tipped  arrows,3  javelins,  and  spears,  flint  and  stone 

1  Sus  vestiduras,  de  que  vsavan,  eran  vnos  Ayates,  6  Gabachas,  sin  Mangas,  y  sus  Mantas,  todo  de  Algodon 
texido  de  varios  eolores:  Y  ellos  y  las  Mugeres,  vnas  como  Faxas,  de  lo  mismo,  de  cosa  de  quatro  varas  de 
largo,  y  vna  tercia  de  ancho,  con  que  se  gefiian,  y  cubrian  las  partes;  y  algunas  al  canto,  u  orilla,  mucha 
Plumeria  de  eolores,  que  era  su  mayor  gala.— Villagutierre,  op.  cit.,  p.  498. 

2  Tenian  algunos  senores  y  capitanes  como  moriones  de  palo  y  estos  eran  pocos,  y  con  estas  armas  ivan 
a  la  guerra,  y  con  plumajes  y  pellejos  de  tigres,  y  leones,  puestos  los  que  los  tenian. — Landa,  op.  cit.,  p.  172. 

3  Y  en  las  orillas  de  la  Playa,  solo  se  veian  amontonadas  la  multitud  de  Flechas,  que  la  resaca  de  las  olas 
avia  llevado  a  Tierra.  De  adonde  se  puede  inforir,  quan  inmenso  seria  el  numero  de  ellas,  que  los  Infieles 
arrojaron  k  los  Pobres  Christianos.— Viu.agutierre,  op.  cit.,  p.  483. 


oann]         MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  53 

axes,  with  slingstones,  and  stone-headed  clubs,  made  for  the  most 
part  of  hard  limestone.  Their  defensive  weapons  were  small  circular 
shields  of  leather-covered  wickerwork  and  thick  cotton  breastplates. 

HOUSES 

The  lower  classes  probably  lived  exclusively  in  thatched  pimento- 
walled  houses,  identical  in  construction  with  those  used  by  the  Maya 
of  the  present  day;  naturally,  these  have  completely  disappeared, 
but  the  former  sites  of  villages  composed  of  such  huts  may  easily 
be  recognized  by  the  presence  of  half-choked  wells  and  the  great 
number  of  malacates,  broken  pots,  weapons,  implements,  ornaments, 
and  rubbing  stones,  which  are  to  be  found  scattered  all  over  them. 
The  priests,  caciques,  and  upper  classes  doubtless  lived  in  the  stone 
houses,  the  remains  of  which  lie  buried  in  considerable  numbers  in 
the  mounds.  The  walls  of  these  houses  were  of  stucco-covered  stone 
and  lime,  the  floors  of  hard  cement,  and  the  roofs,  no  doubt,  of 
beams  and  thatch,  as  many  of  them  are  too  wide  to  have  been 
covered  by  the  so-called  "American  arch." 

Many  of  these  buildings  were  doubtless  used  as  temples,  but  prob- 
ably the  majority  of  them  were  private  houses.1  In  one  of  them  an 
interment  had  taken  place  beneath  the  floor  of  the  house  before  the 
structure  was  destroyed.2 

ARTS 

The  former  inhabitants  of  this  part  of  the  Maya  area  do  not  seem 
to  have  fallen  far  behind  those  of  northern  Yucatan  in  the  aits  of 
sculpture  upon  stone,  stucco  molding,  mural  painting,  ceramics,  and 
the  manufacture  of  stone  implements  and  weapons,  as  excellent 
examples  in  all  these  fields  have  been  found. 

At  Seibal,  Ilolmul,  Naranjo,  and  Benque  Viejo,  cities  of  the  old 
Empire  lying  along  the  British  Honduras-Guatemala  frontier,  examples 
of  seulptured  stelae  and  altars  have  been  found,  equal  in  fineness  of 
workmanship  to  those  found  at  any  other  site  within  the  Maya  area. 
The  molded  stucco  figures  at  Pueblo  Nuevo  are  beautifully  executed, 
while  the  painted  stucco  upon  the  temple  walls  at  Santa  Rita  is  prob- 
ably the  finest  example  of  this  kind  of  decoration  yet  brought  to 
light  in  the  whole  Maya  area.  The  colors  used  (green,  yellow,  red, 
blue,  black,  and  white)  seem  to  have  been  derived  from  colored 
earths  and   vegetal  dyes  ground  to  a   paste  in  small  shallow  stone 

'  Kstava en  vn  j.:r.m  Salon,  cuyos  Teohos eran  1<>  I'aja,  y  las  Parades  de  Cal,  y  Canto,  de  vna  vara  de  alto, 
bniflidas,  como  el  suolo,  y  en  ellas  estrivava  <1  Maderage  de  lo  lovantado  en  la  Casa.  Viu.\<a  tikkrk, 
op.clt.,  p.  392. 

Kstava  poblada  toda  el  la  <1<>  e!Ls:i.s.  almmay  con  Parades  de  Pietira,  de  cosa  de  mas  de  \  ara  de  alto,  y  do 
all! arrfba  Maderas,  >•  los  Techos  de  Paja,  j  otras  do  solo  Madera,  Y  I'aja.    II  id,  ni. 

■  Knterrovanlos  dentro  en  sus  oasits  o  a  las  espaldas  dellas,  ...  <  omunmente  desamparavan  la  casa  y 
la  dexavan  yerma  despues  do  enterrados.— I.ani>a,  op.  cii.,  p.  r.Mi. 


54  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY  f  bull.  64 

mortars  with  spatulato  flint  grinders,  which  have  been  found  with 
traces  of  paint  still  adhering  to  them.  Ornaments  in  the  form  of 
human  and  animal  faces  and  heads  nicely  cut  from  jadeite  and  green- 
stone are  not  uncommon.  Some  bear  incised  hieroglyphic  inscrip- 
tions. The  greenstone  shell  from  Kendal,  described  later  on,  in  its 
fineness  of  finish  and  accurate  imitation  of  the  natural  form,  is  a 
remarkable  example  of  gem  cutting. 

Most  of  the  domestic  pottery  used  was  of  a  rather  coarse  hard  red 
ware.  This  comprises  large  amphora-like  water  jars,  shallow  dishes, 
saucers,  and  bowls,  used  probably  to  hold  food;  cooking  pots  of 
various  sizes  and  shapes,  chocolate  pots  with  upright  spouts,-  and 
disks  for  baking  tortillas-  In  addition  to  these,  thick  brittle  vessels 
of  very  coarse  pottery,  some  of  exceptionally  large  size,  are  found, 
which  were  probably  used  as  receptacles  for  corn,  beans,  pepper,  and 
other  light  dry  substances.  Of  the  finer  kinds  of  pottery  some  are 
ornamented  with  incised  devices,  executed  after  the  vessels  had  been 
fired,  others  are  covered  with  devices  in  polychrome,  and  still  others 
with  ornaments  molded  while  the  clay  was  plastic.  Lastly,  these 
three  methods,  or  any  two  of  them,  may  be  combined  in  the  deco- 
ration of  any  one  vessel. 

The  objects  most  frequently  depicted  on  the  vases  are  human 
heads,  simple  glyphs,  animal  and  mythological  figures,  and  flowers. 
Most  of  the  vessels  are  polished,  some  of  them  to  a  high  degree,  but 
the  art  of  glazing  does  not  seem  to  have  been  understood.  The  finer 
kinds  of  pottery  are  thin,  tough,  light,  and  very  hard.  The  applique* 
work,  displayed  best  in  incense  burners,  upon  which  the  figure  of  the 
god  in  high  relief  is  built  up  bit  by  bit,  is  rather  coarse,  but  in  some 
examples  very  effective.  Stone  implements  and  weapons  of  great 
variety  have  been  discovered,  including  ax,  spear,  javelin,  and 
arrowheads,  knives,  clubs,  throwing  stones,  hammerstones,  scrapers, 
chisels,  borers,  paint  and  corn  grinders,  fiber  cleaners,  and  many 
others.  Flint,  chert,  obsidian,  greenstone,  and  limestone  were  the 
materials  most  commonly  used  in  the  manufacture  of  implements 
and  weapons.  Very  remarkable  eccentrically  shaped  objects,  in- 
cluding crosses,  crescents,  rings,  and  a  variety  of  other  forms,  chipped 
with  great  care  and  precision,  from  flint,  chert,  and  obsidian,  are 
also  found,  though  not  in  great  numbers.  They  seem  to  be  con- 
fined almost  exclusively  to  this  part  of  the  Maya  area. 

MUSICAL    INSTRUMENTS 

With  the  exception  of  clay  whistles  of  from  one  to  four  notes,  no 
musical  instruments  have  been  found  in  the  mounds,  unless  the 
hollow  cylinder  (10^  inches  high  by  4  inches  in  diameter)  from 
Yalloch  may  be  regarded  as  a  small  hand  drum  similar  to  those  men- 


oann]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  55 

tioned  by  Landa  as  having  been  in  use  at  the  time  of  the  conquest,1 
and  somewhat  resembling  the  clay  jar  with  a  piece  of  gibnut  hide 
stretched  over  the  opening  for  a  head,  still  in  use  as  a  drum  among 
the  Lacandones.2  The  late  Sir  Alfred  Moloney  obtained  in  the  village 
of  Succots  a  tunkul,  or  wooden  drum,  with  two  rubber-tipped  drum- 
sticks, which  had  been  brought  by  the  Indians  from  Guatemala  at  the 
time  of  their  emigration  from  that  country.  This  had  been  handed 
down  from  Alcalde  to  Alcalde  from  time  immemorial,  and  was  used 
to  summon  the  villagers  on  special  occasions,  as  a  fire  or  the  election 
of  new  Alcaldes. 

FOOD 

The  staple  article  of  diet  among  the  ancient  Maya  seems  to  have 
been  maize,  as  it  is  at  the  present  day  among  their  descendants. 
Numbers  of  rubbing-stones  and  rubbers,  both  broken  and  whole, 
are  found  in  the  mounds,  as  are  also  the  clay  disks  used  for  baking 
corn  cakes.  The  bones  of  various  animals,  which  had  probably  been 
used  for  food,  are  also  found;  among  these  are  the  peccary,  gibnut, 
armadillo,  puma,  tapir,  and  manatee,  together  with  woula  (snake), 
alligator,  and  (of  birds)  the  curassow  and  wild  turkey.  Shells  of 
the  conch,  cockle,  oyster,  and  fresh-water  snail  are  also  found  in 
abundance.  The  Maya  probably  kept  small  domestic  animals  and 
birds,3  as  great  numbers  of  rough  stone  troughs  are  found  in  the 
mounds,  precisely  similar  to  those  manufactured  and  used  by  the 
modern  Maya  Indians  for  watering  their  fowls,  while  eggs,  with  tur- 
keys and  other  birds,  have  been  found,  held  in  the  hands  of  figurines 
upon  the  incense  burners,  as  offerings  to  the  gods.  They  seem  to  have 
made  periodical  expeditions  to  the  cays  and  islands  off  the  coast  to 
fish  and  collect  shellfish,  as  quantities  of  net-sinkers,  flint  chips, 
potsherds,  and  broken  javelin  heads  are  found  on  many  of  the  cays. 
But  few  mounds,  however,  which  give  evidence  of  permanent  human 
occupancy  have  been  discovered  in  this  situation. 

SPINNING    AND    WEAVING 

Judging  by  the  great  number  of  spindle-whorls  found  in  the  mounds 
and  on  village  sites,  cotton  spinning  must  have  been  practically 
universal  among  the  women.  Oval  perforated  stones  of  a  size 
suitable  for  loom  weights  have  been  found,  and  it  is  probable  that 

1  Tienen  atables  pequeftos  que  tnflen  con  hi  mono,  y  otro  atabal  do  palo  huoco  de  sonido  |>csado  y  tristc; 
tancnlo  run  un  palo  larguillo  puesto  al  cabo  eierta  leche  do  un  arlx>l.— Landa,  op.  cit.,  p.  124. 

J  The  drum  is  composed  of  a  clay  jar  about  twenty  inches  high.  Over  the  top  of  the  jar  is  si  retched  a 
piece  of  the  hide  of  the.  teptizqulnte  for  a  head.  The  whole  drum  is  painted  white.  On  one  side  near  the 
top  there  is  a  head  similar  in  all  respei  ts  to  that  found  in  nil  the  sacred  ollas.  This  head,  as  it  has  been 
explained,  represents  one  of  the  lesser  gods  called  Qaiyum. — Tozzkk,  a  Comparative  study  of  the 
Mayas  and  the  Lacandones,  p.  ill. 

3('rian  aves  para  vender  de  Costilla,  y  de  las  suyas  y  para  comer.  Crian  paxaroa  i  ara  su  recreacion  y 
para  las  plumas  para  hazer  sus  ropas  galanas.— Landa,  op.  cit.,  p.  190. 


56  BUREAU   OF  AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

they  were  used  as  such,  as  they  do  not  seem  to  be  adapted  to  any 
other  purpose.  With  this  exception  we  learn  nothing  of  the  art  of 
weaving  from  the  contents  of  the  mounds.  Henequen  fiber  was 
doubtless  used  for  the  manufacture  of  rope,  mats,  hammocks,  and  other 
objects,  as  grooved  flat  stones  for  beating  the  pulp  from  the  fiber  are 
common. 

GAMES 

The  appliances  for  at  least  two  distinct  games  have  been  found.1 
The  first  consists  of  a  large  spherical  block  of  limestone,  nicely 
polished,  and  about  1  foot  in  diameter,  found  associated  with  6  to  12 
smaller  spherical  stones,  each  about  3  inches  in  diameter,  of  very  light 
material  somewhat  resembling  pumice  stone.  The  second  consists 
of  a  number  of  small  disks  of  shell,  about  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in 
diameter.  Collections  of  these  have  been  found  together  on  several 
occasions;  they  might  have  been  used  as  beads  or  ornaments  but  for 
the  fact  that  they  are  neither  perforated  nor  decorated  with  incised 
figures  as  shell  beads  usually  are. 

RELIGION 

Of  the  15  gods  of  the  codices  classified  by  Schollhas  five  may  be 
recognized  in  this  area  with  a  fair  degree  of  certainty.  God  A,  the 
god  of  death,  in  the  form  of  a  human  skull,  decorates  the  outside  of 
not  a  few  small  pottery  vessels,  and  is  depicted  upon  the  painted 
stucco  wall  at  Santa  Rita.  God  B,  the  long-nosed  god,  is  usually 
identified  with  Cuculcan.  Representations  of  this  god  are  found 
throughout  the  whole  area  in  great  abundance,  painted  upon  pottery 
and  stucco,  incised  on  bone  and  stone,  and  modeled  in  clay.  This 
god  is  associated  with  the  cities  of  Chichen  Itza  and  Mayapan,  and  is 
supposed  to  have  entered  Yucatan  from  the  west ;  indeed  it  is  possible 
that  ho  may  originally  have  been  the  leader  of  one  of  the  Maya 
immigrations  from  that  direction.  He  appears  to  have  been  by  far 
the  most  popular  and  generally  worshiped  deity  in  this  area,  and  it 
is  his  imago  which  is  found  on  nearly  half  of  all  the  incense  burners 
discovered.  God  D,  probably  Itzamna,  appears  in  the  codices  as  an 
old  man  with  a  Roman  nose,  shrunken  cheeks,  toothless  jaws,  and- a 
peculiar  scroll-like  ornament  beneath  the  eye,  to  the  lower  border  of 
which  are  attached  two  or  three  small  circles.  In  some  representa- 
tions a  single  tooth  projects  from  the  upper  jaw,  and  in  a  few  the 

>  Tor  lo  qual  se  usava  tener  en  cada  pueblo  una  casa  grande  y  encalada,  abierta  por  todas  partes,  en  la 
qual  se  juntavan  los  mocos  para  sus  passatiempos.  Jugavan  a  la  pelota  y  a  un  juego  con  Unas  habas  como 
a  los  dados,  y  a  otros  muchos. — Landa,  op.  cit.,  p.  178. 

Two  curious  stones,  which  may  have  been  used  in  some  game,  were  discovered  in  a  small  burial  mound 
in  the  Orange  Walk  district  of  British  Honduras  some  years  ago.  They  were  made  of  nicely  polished 
crystalline  limestone,  about  one  foot  in  diameter,  and  shaped  very  much  like  curling  stones  without  handles. 
The  upper  part  of  each  was  traversed  by  two  round  holes,  about  one  inch  in  diameter,  which  passed  com- 
pletely through  the  stone,  near  its  summit,  and  crossed  each  other  at  right  angles. 


Oann]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  57 

face  is  bearded.  This  god  is  not  infrequently  found  associated  with 
the  serpent.  A  typical  representation  of  him  is  seen  upon  the  Santa 
Rita  temple  wall;1  here  he  is  depicted  standing  upon  intertwined 
serpents,  holding  in  his  right  hand  a  feather-plumed  serpent.  This 
god  is  represented  upon  some  incense  burners,  and  is  found  not  infre- 
quently associated  with  Cuculcan. 

God  K,  the  god  with  an  elaborate  foliated  nose,  often  closely  asso- 
ciated with  God  B,  his  face  in  some  cases  forming  the'headdress  orna- 
ment of  the  latter  god,  is  unmistakably  depicted  upon  the  Santa 
Rita  temple  wall.2  God  P,  the  Frog  god,  is  found  on  some  small 
pottery  vases,  and  on  a  few  incense  burners.  Nothing  found  in 
the  mounds  proves  definitely  the  practice  of  human  sacrifice  in  this 
area,  but  that  it  existed  is  almost  certain,  as  Villagutierre  refers  to  it 
as  prevalent  among  the  Itza  of  Peten  at  the  time  of  their  conquest,3 
at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  Landa  mentions  it  as 
occurring  among  the  Maya  at  the  time  of  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards.4 
Near  the  headwaters  of  the  Rio  Hondo  a  mound  was  opened,  which 
contained,  in  a  stone-walled  chamber,  a  number  of  human  skulls 
unaccompanied  by  other  bones.  It  is  possible  that  these  may  have 
boon  the  remains  of  sacrificial  victims,  as  it  was  customary  to  remove 
the  head  of  the  victim  after  death,  which  became  the  perquisite  of 
the  priests. 

Human  sacrifice  among  the  Maya  was  probably  a  somewhat  rare 
event,  taking  place  only  on  extraordinary  special  occasions,  as  in 
times  of  public  calamity — for  example,  during  the  prevalence  of 
famine,  war,  or  pestilence — when  it  was  felt  that  a  special  pro- 
pitiatory offering  to  the  god  was  called  for.  This  practice  was  con- 
fined to  one,  or  at  most  to  a  very  small  number  of  victims,  never 
reaching  the  proportions  which  it  did  among  the  Aztec,  by  whom  it 
was  probably  introduced  into  Yucatan.  The  main  offering  of  the 
Maya  to  their  gods  seems  to  have  consisted  of  an  incense  composed 
of  copal  gum  and  aromatic  susbtances.  Landa  mentions  this  as 
largely  employed  at  the  time  of  the  conquest;  Villagutierre  en- 
countered it  among  the  Itza  at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century; 
and  Tozzer  found  it  in  use  among  the  Lacandon  Indians  at  the 
present  day.  The  incense  itself  lias  been  found  all  over  this  area, 
as  well  as  great  numbers  of  incense  burners. 

1  Sec  Nineteenth  Rep.  Bur.  Amor.  Ethn.,  pi.  xxx,  li^.  s. 

•  Ibid.,  pi.  xxix,  n<>.  :i. 

'  A  la  primcra  vista  encontraron  con  la  Messa  do  los  Sacrifleios,  quo  era  vna  Piedra  muy  grande,  do  mas 
do  ilos  varus  y  media  de  largo,  y  vara  y  media  do  am  ho,  con  doze  assientos,  que  la  rodoavan,  para  los  doze 
Sacerdotes,  que  executavan  el  Saoriflcio.    Villaoutterke,  op.  <it.,  p.  :W2:  Ibid.,  p.  457;  Ibid.,  ^l>. 

4  Que  sin  las  fiestas  en  lasquales,  para  la  solemnidad  doellas,  se  saoriflcavan  an  i  males,  tambien  poralguna 
tribulacion  o  necessidad,  les  mandava  el  sacrcdote  o  rhilanes  saoriflcar  pcrsonas,  y  para  esto  contribuiao 
todos,  para  quo  se  comprasse  oselavos,  o  algunos  de  devoclon  daran  sus  hijltos  los  quales  eran  muy  regaladoa 
hasta  el  dia  y  fiesta  de  sus  pcrsonas,  y  muy  guardados  (pie  no  se  huyessen  o  ensuzlassen  de  algun  <amal 
peccado,  y  mientras  a  ellos  I  leva  van  de  pueblo  en  pueblo  con  vailes,  ayunavan  los  sacerdotes  y  chilanes  y 
otros  officiales— Landa,  op.  cit.,  p.  164. 


58  BUREAU   OP   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64,  gann] 

In  addition  to  incense,  the  blood  of  fish,  birds,  and  animals  was 
smeared  over  the  images  of  the  gods,  as  an  offering,  together  with 
human  blood  obtained  by  cutting  the  ears,  tongue,  genitals,  and  other 
parts  of  the  body.  The  hearts  of  various  animals,  together  with  live 
and  dead  animals  (some  cooked  and  some  raw)  and  all  kinds  of  foods 
and  drinks  in  use  among  the  people,1  were  also  employed  as  offerings 
to  the  gods.  In  the  hands  of  figurines  upon  the  incense  burners  are 
found,  modeled  in  clay,  fruit,  flowers,  eggs,  cakes,  birds,  small  animals, 
and  other  objects,  all  evidently  intended  for  the  same  purpose. 

CHRONOLOGY 

Three  distinct  periods  of  Mayan  civilization  seem  to  be  represented 
in  this  area.  The  center  of  the  earliest  of  these  was  along  the  Rio 
Grande,  in  southern  British  Honduras,  within  20  miles  of  the  Guate- 
mala frontier,  where  the  Leydcn  Plate  was  discovered,  upon  which 
is  inscribed  the  earliest  but  one  known  Maya  date — namely,  Cycle 
8,  Katun  14,  Tun  3,  Uinal  1,  Kin  12.  If  the  massive  stone-faced 
pyramids  and  terraces  of  these  ruins  are  contemporaneous  with  the 
Leyden  Plate,  as  seems  possible,  they  must  be  reckoned  among 
the  earliest  monuments  of  the  first,  or  southern  Maya,  civilization. 
The  Benque  Viejo  temple,  in  the  extreme  western  part  of  British 
Honduras,  comes  next  in  point  of  time.  This  was  almost  certainly 
contemporaneous  with  its  near  neighbor,  Naranjo,  where  the  earliest 
Initial  Series  found  is  9.10.10.0.0,  and  the  latest  9.19.10.0.0,  giving 
the  city  an  age  of  at  least  9  katuns,  or  180  years.  It  will  be  seen  that 
the  difference  between  the  Leyden  tablet  date  and  the  earliest  re- 
corded date  at  Naranjo  is  rather  more  than  16  katuns,  or  320  years. 

The  latest  of  all  the  sites  is  undoubtedly  Santa  Rita,  which  shows 
strong  Mexican  influence;  this  belongs  to  the  second  era  of  Maya 
civilization,  which  reached  its  highest  development  in  Yucatan  and 
the  northern  cities.  Excluding  the  Tuluum  Stela,  the  date  upon 
which,  9.6.10.0.0,  is  almost  certainly  not  contemporaneous,2  the 
only  Initial  Series  deciphered  with  certainty  in  Yucatan  up  to  the 
present  time  is  that  at  Chichen  Itza,  10.2.9.1.9,  nearly  3  katuns,  or 
60  years,  later  than  the  latest  at  Naranjo;  but  probably  the  Santa 
Rita  site  is-  much  later  in  date  than  this,  and  if  we  may  judge  by  the 
objects  found  in  the  mounds  in  the  vicinity,  some  of  which  show 
strong  Spanish  influence,  it  was  occupied  up  to  and  beyond  the 
conquest. 

1  Mas  de  todas  las  cosas  que  aver  podian  que  son  aves  del  cielo,  animales  de  la  tierra,  o  pescados  de  la 
agua,  siempre  les  embadurnavan  los  rostros  al  demonio  cor*  la  sangre  dcllos.  Y  otras  cosas  que  tenian 
ofrecian;  a  algunos  animales  les  sacavan  el  eorazon  y  lo  ofrecian,  a  otros  enteros,  unos  vivos,  otros  muertos, 
unos  crudos,  otros  guisados,  y  hazian  tambien  grandes  ofrendas  de  pan  y  vino,  y  de  todas  las  maneras  de 
comidas,  y  bevidas  que  usavan. — Landa,  op.  cit.,  pp.  1C2-164. 

-  Recent  examination  of  the  Tuluum  Stela  has  brought  to  light  upon  it,  in  two  places,  the  glyph  rep- 
resenting the  lahuntum,  and  the  date  7  Ahau;  now  7  Ahau  occurs  as  a  lahuntun  ending  in  10.6.10.0.0 
(approximately  695  A.  D.  of  our  era)  which  is  almost  certainly  the  contemporaneous  date  of  the  Stela. 


BUREAU    OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


SULLETIN   64      PLATE  7 


SKETCH    MAP   OF   BRITISH    HONDURAS,    WITH    ADJACENT    PARTS   OF   YUCATAN    AND 
GUATEMALA.    INDICATING   THE    POSITIONS    OF    MOUNDS    EXCAVATED 


DESCRIPTION  OF  MOUNDS 

Mound  No.  1 

Mound  No.  1  (No.  24  on  the  plan  of  Santa  Rita  (fig.  14),  situated 
midway  between  Nos.  6  and  22)  was  conical  in  shape,  nearly  circular 
at  the  base,  18  feet  high,  and  90  feet  in  circumference.  It  was  built 
throughout  of  large  irregular  blocks  of  limestone,  the  interstices  being 


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06 

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//        °/2 

Fig.  11.    Plan  of  Santa  Rita  mounds. 

filled  with  limestone  dust  and  earth,  forming  together  a  sort  of  friable 
mortar,  which  rendered  the  whole  structure  nearly  as  compact  as  a 

solid  block  of  masonry. 

Excavation  near  the  center  of  the  mound,  at  a  depth  of  2  feet  below 
the  surface,  brought  to  li«,r!it  a  large  circular  disk  of  roughly  hewn 
limestone,  '.I  feet  in  diameter  by  8  inches  thick.     On  lifting  this  it  was 

59 


60 


BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  64 


found  to  cover  the  mouth  of  a  bell-like  cist,  nearly  3  feet  in  diameter 
and  about  5  feet  in  depth.  On  opening  the  cist,  which  was  slightly 
narrower  at  the  bottom  than  at  the  top,  it  was  found  to  be  nearly 
half  filled  with  very  fine  brown  dust,  at  the  bottom  of  which  lay  a 
roughly  made  circular  urn  18  inches  in  diameter,  covered  by  a 
mushroom-shaped  lid. 

The  urn  was  filled  to  the  top  with  small  crudely  executed  pottery 
figurines  of  men  and  animals.  There  were  49  of  these  in  all,  con- 
sisting of  4  warriors,  with  shield  and  spear,  3  seated  human  figures, 
4  standing  figures  (eating  and  fanning  themselves),  4  lizards,  4  alli- 
gators, 4  snakes,  4  birds,  4  dragon- 
like creatures,  4  tigers,  and  14  quashes 
or  picotes.  The  warriors  (pi.  8)  are 
represented  in  a  crouching  position, 
with  the  right  knee  and  left  foot 
upon  the  ground;  each  holds  in  the 
right  hand  a  small  spear  and  on  the 
left  forearm  a  circular  shield.1  Two 
of  them  exhibit  tusk-like  objects  pro- 
jecting from  their  mouths.  The  fig- 
ures are  4  \  inches  high ;  they  are  paint  ed 
in  red  and  white  throughout.  The 
headdress  consists  of  a  boat-shaped 
cap  worn  with  the  bow  and  stern  pro- 
jecting over  the  ears.  The  seated 
figures  (pi.  9;  fig.  15)  are  each  6  inches 
in  height;  these  are  painted  through- 
out in  red,  white,  and  green.  Each 
is  seated  upon  a  low  four-legged  stool, 
and  grasps  in  one  hand  by  its  greatly 
enlarged  spatulate  glans  the  project- 
ing penis,  on  which  he  is  seemingly  per- 
forming some  sort  of  surgical  operation  with  a  long  knife  held  in  the 
other  hand. 

The  headdress  consists  of  a  mitre-like  erection  in  front,  with  a 
long  queue  hanging  down  to  the  waist  behind.  Button-like  labrets 
are  worn  on  each  side  of  the  mouth  in  two  of  the  figures,  and  all  wear 
large  circular  ear  plugs.  The  standing  figures  (fig.  16)  are  each  5 \ 
inches  high,  and  had  been  painted  throughout  in  red  and  white, 
though  not  much  of  the  original  color  now  remains.  The  headdress 
consists  of  a  broad  flat  cap  decorated  in  front  with  a  row  of  circular 
beads,  and  on  each  side  with  a  large  tassel,  which  hangs  down  over 
the  ear  plugs.  Each  figure  wears  a  small  narrow  maxtli  and  button-like 
labrets  at  each  angle  of  the  mouth.     In  one  of  the  figures  the  right 


Fig.  15.— Figurine  from  Mound  No.  1. 


1  Tenian  laneuelas  cortas  de  un  est'ado  con  los  hierros  de  fuerte  pedernal  .  .  .  Tenian  para  su  defensa 
rodelas  que  hazian  de  cafias  hendidas,  y  muy  texidas  redondas  y  guarnecidas  de  cueros  de  venados. — Landa, 
op.cit.,  pp.  170-172. 


BUREAU   OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN   64      PLATE  8 


FIGURINES   OF   WARRIORS   FROM    MOUND    NO.    1 


gann] 


MAYA  INDIANS  OP  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


61 


hand  is  extended,  while  the  left  holds  a  circular  fan.  In  the  other  the 
forearms  are  flexed  at  right  angles,  with  hands  held  open  in  front  of 
the  waist,  as  if  ahout  to  receive  something.  The  lizard  effigies,  though 
crudely  made,  are  most  lifelike  representations  about  6  inches  in 
length.  The  alligators  resemble  very  closely  those  taken  from  another 
mound  at  Santa  Rita.1 

The  tigers  and  dragon-like  creatures  are  exactly  similar  to  those 
figured  in  Nos.  6  and  4  of  the  same  plate.  The  bird  and  snake  effigies 
are  very  crude  and  ill  made;  the  former,  about  1^  inches  in  length, 
represent  birds  in  the  act  of  flying,  with  wings  extended.  The  snakes, 
each  represented  with  a  double  curve  in  the  body,  are  about  5\  inches 


Fig.  16.— Figurines  from  Mound  No.  1. 

in  length  and  one-half  inch  in  diameter;  they  are  made  of  rough 
day,  painted  rod.  The  effigies  of  the  quashes,  though  rough  and 
crudely  made,  are  rather  vigorous  and  lifelike  in  execution.  Each  is 
about  3  inches  long.  This  small  arboreal  animal,  which  abounds  in 
the  district,  is  represented  in  a  variety  of  comical  positions;  so  well 
indeed  has  the  artist  studied  his  model  that  one  can  not  help  think- 
ing that  he  must  have  kept  some  of  the  little  animals  as  pets,  as 
many  of  the  Maya  Indians  do  at  the  present  day.  The  figures  when 
first  found  were  so  brittle  that  it  was  impossible  to  remove  them 
from  the  pot  without  breakage,  as  they  had  been  seemingly  only 
sun  dried.  After  exposure  to  the  sun  and  air,  however,  for  a  few 
davs  they  gradually  hardened. 


1  Figured  in  Nineteenth  llep.  Bur.  Ainer.  Eton.,  pi.  xxxiv,  No. 


62  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

The  only  unpainted  object  found  in  the  urn  was  a  natural-size 
model  of  the  human  penis,  in  a  state  of  semierection  (fig.  17).  This 
differed  from  all  the  other  objects  in  that  it  had  been  fired,  instead  of 
merely  sun  dried,  and  is  on  that  account  much  harder.  Upon  the 
upper  surface  of  the  glans  penis  are  three  longitudinal  incisions, 
extending  almost  from  base  to  apex,  evidently  made  with  a  sharp- 
pointed  implement  while  the  clay  was  still  soft. 

With  these  figurines  a  number  of  perforated  beads  of  jade  and 
some  of  a  dark-red  stone,  all  nicely  polished,  were  found;  also  the 
tooth  of  a  large  alligator  perforated  at  the  base,  evidently  for  sus- 
pension with  the  beads. 

About  6  feet  to  the  north  of  the  center  of  the  mound,  at  a  depth 
of  3  feet  below  the  surface,  was  discovered  a  small  stone  cist 
or  chamber,  18  inches  square,  built  of  roughly  cut  blocks  of 
limestone.  Within  this  were  found  most  of  the  bones  of  a  male  of 
medium  height  and  fair  muscular  development.     These  bones  were 

exceedingly  friable,  but  showed  no 
effects  of  fire;  with  the  exception 
of  the  tibise,  they  were  in  no  way 
abnormal.  The  upper  articular  sur- 
face of  the  right  tibia  had  disap- 
peared. The  shaft  was  rounded  in 
section,  the  prominent  angles  at  the 
front  and  sides  being  obliterated.  It 
was  slightly  bowed,  with  the  con- 
vexity anteriorly,  and  was  consider- 
ably enlarged,  especially  in  its  upper 
two-thirds,  which  were  composed 
chiefly  of  very  friable  cancellous  tis- 

Fig.  17.— LnpaintedobjectfromMoundNo.l.  . 

sue,  rendering  the  bone  much  lighter 
than  its  appearance  indicated.  The  surface  of  the  upper  part  of 
the  bone  was  marked  by  the  presence  of  a  number  of  small 
pits  or  depressions.  Of  the  left  tibia  only  a  few  fragments  were 
found,  but  so  far  as  could  be  judged  from  these  a  change  some- 
what similar  to  that  observed  in  the  right  tibia  had  taken 
place  in  it.  The  bones  and  other  objects  found  in  this  mound 
would  suggest  at  first  sight  the  possibility  of  the  individual  buried 
beneath  it  having  suffered  during  life  from  some  form  of  venereal 
disease,  closely  allied  to,  if  not  identical  with,  syphilis.  On  reading 
Landa's  account1  of  two  forms  of  ceremonial  self -mutilation  car- 
ried out  by  the  Yucatecan  Maya  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  there 

'  Otras,  se  harpavan  To  superfluo  del  miembro  vergon?oso,  dexandolo  como  las  orejas,  de  lo  qual  se  engano 
el  historiador  general  de  las  Indias,  diziendo  que  se  circumcidian.  Otras  vezes  hazian  un  suzio  y  penoso 
sacrificio  anudandose  los  que  lo  hazian  en  el  templo,  donde  puestos  en  rengla,  se  hazian  sendos  agujeros  en 
los  mfembros  viriles  al  soslayo  ror  el  lado,  y  heriios  passavan  toda  la  mas  cantidad  de  hilo  que  podian 
quedando  assi  todos  asfdos,  y  ensartados;  tambien  untavan  con  la  sangre  de  todas  estas  partes  al  demonio 
y  el  que  mas  hazia,  por  mas  valiente  era  tenido.— Landa,  op.  cit.,  p.  162. 


oann]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  63 

can  be  little  doubt,  however,  that  the  figurines  shown  in  plate  9  and 
figure  15  are  meant  to  represent  individuals  inflicting  on  themselves 
one  or  other  of  these,  but,  owing  to  the  crudeness  of  the  workman- 
ship, it  is  difficult  to  determine  which.  In  one  the  foreskin  was  pierced 
and  expanded  in  much  the  same  way  that  the  ears  were  treated 
when  sacrificing  to  the  idols.  In  the  other,  a  number  of  men, 
sitting  in  a  row  in  the  temple,  each  pierced  his  glans  penis  from  side 
to  side,  and  passing  a  long  piece  of  cord  through  all  the  apertures, 
strung  themselves  together  in  this  way. 

Mound  No.  2 

Mound  No.  2  (No.  25  on  the  plan,  fig.  14)  was  situated  a 
short  distance  to  the  south  of  Mound  No.  19.  It  was  circular  at 
the  base,  conical  in  shape,  6  feet  high  at  its  highest  point,  and  40 
yards  in  circumference.  On  the  summit  of  the  mound,  partially 
buried  in  the  earth,  was  found  a  conch  shell,  much  worn  by  the 
weather,  with  the  tip  cut  smoothly  off,  and.  still  capable  of  being 
used  as  a  trumpet.  The  surface  layer  of  the  mound  was  composed  of 
earth,  in  which  were  embedded  a  few  limestone  blocks.  Within 
this  layer,  which  was  18  inches  thick,  near  the  center  of  the  mound 
and  a  few  inches  beneath  the  surface,  was  found  a  turtle,  hewn  from 
a  block  of  limestone,  measuring  13  inches  in  length  and  10  inches  in 
breadth.  The  next  layer  was  composed  of  ashes,  charcoal,  and 
pieces  of  half-charred  wood.  This  layer,  which  varied  from  3  to 
8  inches  in  thickness,  extended  evenly  over  the  whole  surface  of  the 
mound,  and  within  it  were  found  16  beads  of  jade,  two  small  round 
three-legged  vases,  and  the  fragments  of  two  pottery  images.  The 
beads  were  all  perforated  and  finely  polished;  two  of  them  repre- 
sented human  faces,  and  one  the  head  of  some  animal,  probably  an 
alligator.  One  is  unusually  large,  measuring  3|  inches  in  length 
by  J  inch  in  breadth. 

The  clay  images  are  so  fragmentary  as  not  to  be  worth  figuring, 
but  in  construction,  ornamentation,  and  size  they  appear  to  be 
almost  identical  with  those  found  in  the  mounds  at  Santa  Rita, 
already  described.1  One  of  the  vases  is  3}  inches  and  the  other  2\ 
inches  in  height;  both  are  ovate.  All  the  objects  taken  from  this 
layer  show  traces  of  having  been  exposed  to  the  action  of  fire.  The 
beads  are  all  more  or  less  cracked  and  blackened,  and  the  pottery 
images  and  vases  are  discolored.  The  next  layer  was  composed  of 
mortar,  embedded  in  which  were  numerous  pieces  of  limestone;  it 
varied  in  depth  from  18  inches  to  2  feet.  The  upper  part  of  this  layer, 
to  a  depth  of  2  to  3  inches,  was  yellow  and  very  hard,  and  seemingly 
had  been  fired;  the  lower  part  was  lighter  in  color  and  very  friable. 
Within  this  layer,  toward  the  center  of  the  mound,  was  found  the 


'  Gann,  Mounds  In  Northern  Honduras. 


64 


BUREAU    OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  64 


alligator  effigy  shown  in  figure  18.  This  animal  is  15£  inches  in  length 
from  the  snout  to  the  tip  of  the  tail.  The  interior  is  hollow,  and  in 
the  center  of  the  dorsal  region  is  a  circular  opening  3£  inches  in  diam- 
eter, surrounded  by  a  rim  1£  inches  high  and  covered  by  a  saucer- 
like lid.  Within  the  widely  opened  jaws  is  seen  a  human  face,  hav- 
ing at  each  corner  of  the  mouth  a  small  pottery  disk,  and  in  the  ears 
two  large  circular  ear  plugs.1  Between  the  eyes  of  the  alligator 
are  two  claw-like  horns,  1  inch  in  length,  each  terminating  in  three 
curved  prongs,  which  point  forward.  Within  the  body  were  found 
two  small  perforated  beads  of  polished  jade.  The  inside  of  the  jaws  is 
colored  red;  the  whole  of  the  body,  together  with  the  head  and  limbs, 
is  colore.d  brown;  the  forehead  and  cheeks  of  the  face  held  between 
the  animal's  jaws  are  colored  blue;  the  nose,  mouth,  and  chin,  white. 


Fig.  18. — Clay  alligator  found  in  Mound  No.  2. 

This  is  by  far  the  largest  and  most  carefully  modeled  of  the  pottery 
figurines  found  at  Santa  Rita,  the  smallest  detail  having  received 
careful  attention,  and  the  scales,  claws,  and  teeth  being  separately 
and  accurately  formed.2     The  fourth  and  deepest  layer  was  2\  feet 

1  These  large  round  ear  plugs  seem  to  have  been  universally  worn;  they  are  found  in  the  paintings,  on 
figurines,  and  on  the  incensarios.  The  plug  may  be  funnel  shaped  or  flat,  plain,  or  decorated  with  a  stud, 
rosette,  or  tassel.  Describing  the  ear  ornaments  worn  by  the  Itzas,  Villagutierre  says:  "Si  Dien  muchos 
de  ellos  rayadas  las  caras,  y  abujereadas  las  orejas.  .  .  .  Y  que  algunos  Indios  traian  puestas,  en  las  orejas 
que  traia,  vnas  Rosas  de  Plata,  y  otros  las  traian  de  Oro;  y  otros  de  Oro,  y  Plata." — Villagutierre,  op. 
cit.,  pp.  402-103. 

Landa,  speaking  of  the  Maya  women,  says:  "Horadavanse  las  orejas,  para  ponerse  zarzilloa  al  modo  de 
sus  mandos."— Landa,  op.  cit.,  p.  182. 

2  Figurines  of  animals  with  human  heads  projecting  from  their  widely  opened  jaws  are  common  in  this 
area.  The  turtle,  alligator,  tiger,  shark,  and  snake  are  usually  the  animals  selected.  Thomas  says  of  this 
figure:  "If  we  may  judge  from  its  use  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  Mexican  cipactli  figure  is  a  symbol  of  the 
earth  or  underworld.  The  usual  form  of  the  day  symbol  in  the  Mexican  codices  is  shown  in  plate  Lxrv, 
10,  and  more  elaborately  in  plate  Liiv,  17."  [These  correspond  almost  exactly  with  some  of  the  figurines 
found.]  "As  proof  thatlt  indicates  the  earth,  or  underworld,  there  is  shown  on  plate  73  of  the  Borglan  Codex 
an  individual,  whose  "heart  has  been  torn  from  his  breast,  plunging  downward  through  the  open  jaws  of 
the  monster  into  the  shade  of  the  earth  below.  ...  It  is  therefore  more  than  likely  that  the  animal  indi- 
cated by  the  Mexican  name  of  the  day  is  mythical,  represented  according  to  locality  by  some  known 
animal  which  seems  to  indicate  best  the  mythical  conception.  Some  figures  evidently  refer  to  the  alligator, 
and  others  apparently  to  the  iguana;  that  on  plates  4  and  5  of  the  Dresden  Codex  is  purely  mythical." 
Thomas,  Day  Symbols  of  the  Maya  Year,  p.  212. 

Spinden  explains  these  part  human,  part  animal,  monsters  differently.  He  regards  the  human  face 
ae  symbolical  of  the  human  mind  contained  within  the  animal  body  of  the  god.— A  Study  of  Maya  Art, 
pp.  35  and  62. 


OAKW]  MAYA  INDIANS  O*   YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  65 

in  thickness,  and  was  built  of  blocks  of  limestone,  each  weighing 
from  50  to  200  pounds,  roughly  fitted  together,  without  clay  or 
mortar  to  fill  in  the  crevices.  Scattered  all  through  this  layer  were 
great  numbers  of  fragments  of  pottery  censers  decorated  externally 
with  human  figures;  nearly  150  pounds  of  these  were  taken  from  it, 
representing  probably  20  incense  burners.  The  whole  of  the  pottery 
when  first  found  was  exceedingly  brittle,  but  hardened  in  a  few  hours 
on  being  exposed  to  the  air  and  sun.  At  the  bottom  of  this  layer,  and 
resting  on  the  ground,  were  found  a  number  of  pieces  of  black  porous 
material  with  a  peculiar  odor.  The  bottom  of  a  large  round  pot,  10 
inches  in  diameter,  was  also  found  full  of  the  same  substance,  which 
is  probably  a  mixture  of  copal  gum  with  various  aromatic  substances, 
which  had  been  used  as  incense  and  partially  charred  at  the  bottom 
of  the  incense  burner.  Fragments  of  the  bottoms  of  round  pots  were 
found  scattered  about  on  the  ground  level,  many  of  them  having  bits 
of  this  charred  incense  still  adhering  to  them. 

The  mound  appears  to  have  been  constructed  in  the  following 
manner:  First,  a  number  of  pieces  of  burning  incenso  and  round  jars 
containing  the  same  substance  were  strewn  thickly  over  an  area  ap- 
proximately 40  yards  in  circumference;  next  a  foundation  or  plat- 
form 2\  feet  in  height  was  formed  by  placing  together  a  number  of 
large  rough  blocks  of  limestone,  among  which  were  scattered  the 
fragments  of  about  20  incense  burners,  decorated  outside  with  human 
figures  in  high  relief.  Over  this  was  plastered  a  layer  of  mortar  18 
inches  to  2  feet  in  thickness  in  which  was  embedded  the  alligator 
seen  in  figure  18.  Fires  were  lighted  on  top  of  this  mortar  till  its 
upper  layers  were  discolored,  and  into  the  fire  while  still  burning 
were  thrown  fragments  of  two  clay  images,  two  small  oval  vases,  and 
a  number  of  beads.  Over  the  ashes  and  charcoal  left  by  the  fires 
earth  and  blocks  of  limestone  were  heaped  to  a  height  of  18  inches, 
and  in  this  layer  was  buried  the  stone  turtle  already  referred  to; 
finally  on  top  of  the  earth  layer  was  placed  a  conch-shell  trumpet. 

Mound  No.  3 

Mound  No.  3  (No.  26  on  the  plan,  fig.  14)  was  situated  immediately 
between  Mounds  Nos.  6  and  11.  It  was  roughly  circular  in  shape,  120 
feet  in  circumference  and  3  feet  in  height.  On  being  dug  away  to 
the  ground  level  it  was  found  to  be  composed  of  earth  and  small 
blocks  of  limestone,  among  which  were  numerous  potsherds  and  frag- 
ments of  terra-cotta  images,  though  the  latter  were  so  small  that  it 
was  impossible  to  tell  how  many  images  they  represented.  The  pot- 
sherds varied  very  much,  some  being  rough  and  undeco rated,  others 
polished  and  well  painted  in  geometrical  devices.  Fragments  of 
flint  spearhoads  and  obsidian  knives  were  also  found  in  this  mound. 
7080G0— 18—  Bull.  G4 5 


66  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

On  reaching  the  ground  level  the  opening  of  a  narrow  passage  18 
inches  square  was  discovered'  which  led  obliquely  downward  toward 
the  east  for  a  distance  of  8  feet;  it  was  lined  with  roughly  squared 
flags  of  limestone  and  terminated  in  a  small  stone-lined  chamber 
2  feet  square.  On  the  floor,  half  buried  in  fine  dry  earth,  lay  a  small 
urn,  roughly  made  of  coarse  pottery,  neither  painted  nor  glazed.  It 
was  circular  in  form,  38 £  inches  in  circumference,  with  a  semicircular 
handle  at  each  side,  and  was  covered  by  a  mushroom-shaped  lid;  with 
the  lid  in  situ  the  whole  formed  a  somewhat  irregular  sphere.  In  the 
urn  and  almost  completely  filling  it  were  20  small  pottery  figurines, 
comprising  3  warriors,  1  seated  human  figure,  4  alligators,  4  dragons, 
6  quashes  or  picotes,  and  2  serpent-like  creatures. 

The  warrior  figures  resemble  very  closely  those  found  in  Mound  No. 
24  (see  pi.  8),  the  only  difference  being  that  while  two  of  them  hold 
shields  on  their  left  forearms,  and  grasp  spears  in  their  right  hands 
(as  in  pi.  8),  the  third  warrior  from  this  mound  grasps  a  long  dagger, 
instead  of  a  spear,  in  his  right  hand.  The  seated  figure  is  very 
similar  to  those  from  Mound  No.  24  (see  fig.  15),  the  only  difference 
being  that  the  glans  penis  is  grasped  in  the  left  hand  while  the  right 
hand  wields  the  knife.  The  alligators  are  closely  similar  to  those 
already  described,  except  that  they  are  solid  throughout  instead  of 
being  hollow.  They  are  painted  red,  white,  and  black,  and  vary  in 
length  from  5?  to  6£  inches.  The  tigers  are  similar  to  those  found  in 
Mound  No.  24,  but  are  rougher,  and  not  so  carefully  modeled ;  all  are 
hollow  and  are  painted  red  throughout.  The  four  dragon-like 
creatures  vary  from  6  to  7  inches  in  length;  the  body,  which  is  round 
and  slender,  ends  in  a  flattened  bifid  tail;  the  mouth,  which  is  held 
wide  open,  is  furnished  with  a  set  of  formidable  teeth.  Upon  the 
upper  lip  is  a  horn-like  excrescence,  and  over  the  thorax  are  one 
dorsal  and  two  lateral  fins.  Each  animal  is  painted  white  over  the 
whole  surface;  the  inside  of  the  mouth  is  painted  red  over  the  white 
layer.  The  six  quashes  are  exactly  similar  to  those  found  in  Mound 
No.  24,  as  are  also  the  two  serpents. 

Mounds  containing  animal  and  human  effigies  appear  to  be  singu- 
larly limited  in  their  distribution.  At  Santa  Rita  seven  have  been 
explored  in  all,  each  containing  1  to  49  effigies,  some  very  crudely 
and  roughly  made  from  sun-dried  clay,  others  nicely  modeled  and 
painted  in  various  colors.  Probably  several  more  of  these  mounds 
had  been  removed  by  the  former  owners  of  the  estate  to  obtain  stone 
for  building  and  road-making  purposes,  as  figurines  similar  to  those 
taken  from  the  excavated  mounds  were  found  in  the  possession  of 
coolie  laborers  working  on  the  estate,  which  they  said  they  had 
found  from  time  to  time  when  digging  for  stone.  The  effigies  com- 
prise figures  of  men,  alligators,  turtles,  quashes,  lizards,  birds,  sharks, 


gann]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  67 

and  snakes,  together  with  two-headed  dragons  and  other  mythologic 
animals.  Similar  mounds  containing  animal  effigies  have  been  found 
at  Douglas,  about  18  miles  southwest  of  Santa  Rita;  at  Bacalar, 
25  miles  northwest;  at  Corozal,  less  than  a  mile  south;  and  near 
San  Antonio,  about  9  miles  north  of  it.  In  each  of  these  localities 
only  a  single  effigy  was  found,  the  workmanship  of  which  resembled 
so  closely  that  of  the  Santa  Rita  specimens  that  it  would  be  difficult 
to  decide  from  which  locality  they  had  come. 

So  far  as  it  has  been  possible  to  ascertain,  no  similar  human  and 
animal  effigies  have  been  previously  discovered  in  this  section  of  the 
Maya  area.  The  significance  of  these  figurines  appears  to  be  some- 
what obscure.  They  are  not  invariably  found  associated  with  hu- 
man remains,  though  this  may  be  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  bones 
have  completely  perished  through  decay  or  because  cremation  has 
been  practiced.  They  show  no  signs  of  use  or  wear  and  were  evi- 
dently made  only  to  be  buried.  The  hollow  specimens  frequently 
contain  one  or  more  beads  of  red  shell,  greenstone,  or  clay  in  their 
interiors,  while  in  most  cases  they  have  been  found  associated  with 
fragments  of  pottery  incense  burners,  which  in  this  region  seem  to 
have  been  very  commonly  mortuary  in  use.  On  the  whole  it  seems 
probable  that  these  figurines  were  merely  votive  offerings  to  the 
gods,  buried  with  the  dead.  Some  of  them  may  indicate  the  occu- 
pation of  the  individual  with  whom  they  were  buried.  A  priest  and 
warrior  from  the  same  mound  have  been  described,  whose  occupant 
may  have  combined  the  double  office,  while  a  small  statuette  of  an 
old  man,  with  a  macapal  slung  over  his  shoulders,  by  a  strap  passing 
across  the  forehead  (typical  of  an  Indian  laborer  of  the  present  day), 
was  found  by  a  coolie  digging  out  stone  from  a  mound  at  Santa  Rita 
many  years  ago. 

Mound  No.  4 

Mound  No.  4  (No.  7  on  the  plan  of  the  Santa  Rita  mounds) '  has 
recently  been  excavated,  together  with  nearly  the  whole  of  the  earth- 
work on  its  south  side.  The  mound  was  circular  at  the  base,  conical 
in  shape,  57  feet  in  height,  471  feet  in  circumference,  and  was  built 
of  blocks  of  limestone  held  together  by  mortar.  On  the  south  side 
of  the  mound  and  continuous  with  it  was  a  circular  earthwork  100 
yards  in  diameter.  The  walls  inclosing  the  circular  space  varied 
from  10  to  25  feet  in  height.  They  were  higher  toward  the  north, 
where  they  were  continuous  with  the  large  mound,  and  lower  toward 
the  south,  where  an  opening  30  feet  wide  gave  access  to  the 
inclosure.  The  summit  of  the  mound  was  truncated,  circular,  and 
about    20  feet   in  diameter.      It  was  covered  by  a  layer  of  alluvial 

1  Figured  in   pi.  xxxvm  of  the  Nineteenth    Rep.  Bur.  Amer.  Ethn.,  as  the  Great  Central  Lookout 
Mound. 


68  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

earth  4  inches  in  thickness,  on  removing  which  the  following  objects 
were  brought  to  light,  lying  on  the  layer  immediately  subjacent, 
near  the  center  of  the  mound:  (a)  A  leaf -shaped  spearhead  of  very 
light  yellow  flint,  5  inches  in  length;  (b)  a  leaf -shaped  spearhead  of 
reddish  flint,  5J  inches  in  length;  (c)  an  eccentrically-shaped 
flint  object  (fig.  19,  a),  4{  inches  in  breadth  by  2|  inches  in 
depth,  of  light  grayish  flint,  very  neatly  and  carefully  chipped; 
(d)  a  large,  well-made  flint  arrowhead,  deeply  grooved  on  each  side 
of  the  base,  2J  inches  in  length,  and  of  light  grayish  color  (fig. 
19,  h) ;  (e)  the  broken  end  of  a  roughly  chipped  flint  hook  or  crescent 
(fig.  19,  c).  With  these  flint  objects  were  found  a  small  red-stone 
bead  and  a  quantity  of  pieces  of  broken  images,  as  arms,  legs,  faces, 
hands,  breastplates,  etc.,  in  rough  pottery.  Below  the  alluvial  layer 
the  mound  was  composed  of  large  blocks  of  limestone,  held  together 
by  mortar,  giving  it  the  consistency  of  masonry  and  rendering 
digging  in  it  very  difficult.  At  a  depth  of  6  feet  a  small  oblong 
chamber  was  opened,  built  of  rough  blocks  of  limestone,  about  8 


a  be 

Fig.  19. — Objects  from  Mound  No.  4. 

feet  by  3  feet,  within  which  were  found  fragments  of  human  bones, 
the  head  pointing  to  the  north.  At  both  head  and  feet  a  few  very 
roughly  chipped  spearheads  were  found.  At  a  depth  of  10  feet 
another  small  chamber,  4  feet  in  length  by  2  feet  in  height  and  2 
feet  in  breadth,  was  opened,  also  composed  of  rough  blocks  of  lime- 
stone. Within  this  were  four  basin-shaped  vessels;  two,  somewhat 
larger  than  their  fellows,  were  superimposed  upon  them  (fig.  20). 
These  basins  were  made  of  rough  pottery,  colored  yellow,  with  a 
broad  rod  stripe  round  the  rim.  Each  was  pierced  by  a  pair  of 
small  round  holes,  1  inch  apart,  repeated  at  equal  intervals  four  times 
round  the  circumference,  about  one-half  inch  from  the  margin.  The 
perforations  in  the  upper  vase  corresponded  exactly  to  those  in  the 
lower  when  they  were  discovered,  suggesting  that  they  had  been  con- 
nected by  cords  of  henequen  fiber,  ti-li,  or  some  perishable  material 
which  had  disintegrated.  It  was  considered  certain  that  these  vessels 
would  contain  a  number  of  the  small  pottery  figures  which  similar 
vessels  from  neighboring  mounds  had  yielded.  On  removing  the 
cover  from  the  first  one,  however,  it  was  found  to  contain  nothing 


gann]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  69 

but  a  small  quantity  of  impalpable  dust.  The  second  contained 
about  an  equal  quantity  of  similar  dust,  together  with  a  small  rough 
opal.  The  excavation  of  this  mound  was  continued  to  a  depth  of 
about  18  feet,  but  nothing  further  was  discovered. 

The  circular  space  inclosed  within  the  earthwork  was  surfaced  by 
a  layer  varying  from  2  feet  to  3  feet  in  thickness,  resting  on  the  bed- 
rock, and  composed  of  rubble  and  powdered  marl  beaten  into  a 
compact  mass,  covered  by  two  layers  of  cement,  one  beneath  the 
other,  which  formed  a  smooth  level  floor  over  the  whole  inclosure. 
A  great  part  of  the  earthwork  and  the  rubble  from  the  floor  of  the 
inclosed  space  have  been  removed  to  repair  the  Corozal  streets. 
Nothing,  however,  was  found  within  them  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  broken  flint  axheads  and  spearheads,  some  hammerstones  (which 
are  found  practically  everywhere),  fragments  of  obsidian  knives, 
and  quantities  of  potsherds.  Plate  10  shows  a  section  through  the 
earthwork  in  process  of  removal  at  its  western  extremity. 

The  wall  is  21  feet  8  inches  in  height  at  this  point,  though  only 
about  17  or  18  feet  are  shown  in  the 
photograph,  as  the  ground  was  filled  up 
behind  the  men  excavating  by  a  heap 
of  limestone  dust  3  or  4  feet  high,  left 
after  the  stones  had  been  removed.  The 
wall  is  composed  here  from  the  ground 
up  of — (1)  a  layer  of  small  rubble,  18 
inches  in  thickness,  the  stones  eompos- 

i  •   -i      r      i ««,»».  *1„    V^«^^    „:„L„  l      Fig.  20.— Pottery  vessels   from    Mound 

ing  which  had   apparently   been  picked  JNo  4 

off  the  land;  (2)  a  layer  of  cement,  6  to  8 

inches  in  thickness  (the  upper  surface  of  this  layer  is  continuous  with 
the  upper  surface  of  the  cement  covering  the  inclosed  space,  and  the 
two  together  evidently  formed  originally  one  continuous  flat,  smooth 
pavement) ;  (3)  a  layer  of  large  rough  blocks  of  limestone,  8  feet  in 
thickness,  built  in  together  with  some  care,  but  without  the  interven- 
tion of  mortar  (these  blocks  had  evidently  been  quarried  out  especially 
for  this  purpose,  as  they  were  quite  fresh  and  showed  no  signs  of  weath- 
ering); (4)  a  cement  layer  3  feet  in  thickness,  composed  of  alternate 
thin  layers  of  bluish  gray  cement  and  thick  layers  of  yellowish 
cement,  which  can  be  faintly  seen  in  the  photograph.  At  the  point 
B,  plate  10,  were  found  a  quantity  of  ashes'and  small  pieces  of  charred 
wood;  the  large  stones  in  the  neighborhood  were  also  blackened  by 
the  action  of  fire,  and  ashes  were  mixed  with  the  lower  part  of  the 
cement  layer,  which  would  seemingly  indicate  that  a  large  fire, 
lasting  a  considerable  period,  had  been  kept  up  at  this  point  on  top 
of  layer  c  before  the  cement  capping  was  added.  The  to])  layer,  8  feet 
high,  is  composed  of  loose,  friable  mortar  with  rough  blocks  of  lime- 
stone sot  in  it  irregularly  and   finished  with  a  conical  cap.    In  the 


70  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

upper  center  of  plate  10,  b,  may  be  distinguished  a  trench,  3  feet 
in  width,  which  runs  through  the  whole  thickness  of  this  layer. 
Its  walls  are  composed  of  rough  limestone  blocks  mortared  together. 
The  trench  was  completely  filled  in  with  small  loose  rubble  similar  to 
that  found  in  layer  a. 

The  high,  steep,  solidly  constructed  mounds,  the  bases  of  many  of 
which  are  connected  with  more  or  less  circular  earthworks,  were 
probably  lookouts  or  observation  mounds.  Most  of  these  mounds 
terminate  in  a  narrow  flattened  summit  too  small  to  have  supported 
even  the  smallest  temple,  while  many  of  them  form  the  centers  or 
nuclei  of  other  groups  of  mounds.  Few  contain  anything  besides 
the  stone,  mortar,  and  earth  of  which  they  are  constructed,  though 
some  of  them  contain  superficial  interments.  That  at  Santa  Rita  is 
exceptional  in  that  it  includes  stone-faced  cysts.  These  mounds 
extend  in  a  more  or  less  regular  chain  along  the  coast  of  Quintana 
Roo  and  British  Honduras,  reaching  from  the  top  of  Chetumal  Bay 
nearly  as  far  south  as  Northern  River,  and  extending  inland  in  a 
southwesterly  direction  along  the  courses  of  the  Rio  Hondo  and  Rio 
Nuevo,  though  many  are  situated  at  a  considerable  distance  from 
either  sea  or  rivers. 

Mound  No.  5 

Mound  No.  5  (No.  27  on  the  plan,  fig.  14),  situated  about  200  yards  to 
the  southeast  of  the  fortification,  was  3  feet  in  height,  30  feet  in  diam- 
eter, and  nearly  circular.  It  was  built  of  blocks  of  limestone,  rubble, 
limestone  dust,  and  earth.  Many  of  these  blocks  had  evidently  been 
t  aken  from  some  building,  as  they  were  well  squared.  About  the  center 
of  the  mound,  at  the  ground  level,  a  small  cyst  was  discovered,  3 
feet  long,  2  feet  broad,  and  1  foot  high,  built  throughout  of  rough 
flags  of  limestone.  Within  it  were  two  vases;  one,  shown  in  figure 
21,  a,  is  of  rough  unpainted  pottery,  4£  inches  high,  with  a  small 
earlike  projection  on  each  side,  each  of  which  is  ornamented  with 
an  ear  plug.  Vases  with  these  earlike  projections  and  ear  plugs  are 
not  uncommon  in  this  area,  and  are  probabty  highly  conventionalized 
incense  burners.  The  figure  of  the  god  outside  (which,  as  will  be  shown 
later  on,  was  represented  after  a  time  by  the  face  only)  has  here  had 
every  feature  and  ornament  of  the  face  eliminated  with  the  exception 
of  the  ears  and  ear  plugs,  which  would  always  be  unmistakable. 

The  other,  seen  in  plate  11,  is  an  egg-shaped  vase  standing  on 
three  short  legs.  It  is  decorated  outside  with  a  human  face  and  was 
originally  painted  white  throughout  and  ornamented  with  black  lines. 
It  has  a  small  opening  at  the  top  covered  by  a  triangular  stopper. 
Within  this  vase  were  found  two  small  polished  beads,  one  of  green- 
stone, the  other  of  red  shell.  Throughout  the  mound  were  found 
numerous  fragments  of  incense  burners,  with  the  small  head  of  a 


BUREAU   OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN  64     PLATE  10 


* 


|£*^s3hI5 


a.   SECTION   THROUGH    EARTHWORK    INCLOSING   CIRCULAR   SPACE, 
SANTA    RITA 


/£*?■ 


^«5^- 


rm* 


>W*t*:' 


*^ 


b.   SECTION    OF    WAI  L   THROUGH    SANTA    RITA 


gann]         MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


71 


tiger,  2  birds,  5  small  beads,  2  malaehates,  4  net  sinkers,  and  the 
ceremonial  bar  shown  in  figure  21,  c;  all  in  rough  pottery.  About 
5  feet  from  the  northern  edge  of  the  mound  were  found  human  bones, 
representing  a  single  interment,  seemingly  of  a  male  of  middle  age. 
The  skull  and  long  bones,  which  were  very  brittle,  though  they 
hardened  on  being  exposed  to  the  air  for  a  day,  were  gotten  out  only 
in  fragments.  The  molar  and  premolar  teeth  arc  heavily  coated 
with  tartar  but  are  not  greatly  worn  down  at  the  crown;  the  incisors, 
on  the  other  hand,  are  very  much  worn  and  in  life  must  have 
been  nearly  level  with  the  gum.  Marked  attrition  of  the  incisors 
seems  to  be  present  in  nearly  all  the  teeth  of  individuals  past 
middle  life  found  in  sepulchral  mounds  throughout  this  area,  which 


d  v  9 

i'lG.  21.— Objects  found  in  Mound  No.  5. 

is  rather  remarkable,  as  the  staple  diet  of  the  ancient  inhabitants 
must  have  been  nearly  identical  with  that  of  the  Indians  of  the 
present  day;  that  is,  maize  ground  to  a  fine  paste  on  a  stone  metate, 
which  of  necessity  contains  a  good  deal  of  grit  from  the  metate,  so 
much  so  that  the  modern  Maya  say  that  an  old  man  eats  two  rub- 
bing stones  and  six  rubbers  during  his  life.  This  gritty  nistamal 
wears  down  the  back  teeth  of  the  modern  Maya  almost  to  the  gum, 
but  does  not  materially  affect  the  front  teeth;  yet  it  is  the  latter, 
not  the  former,  which  we  find  affected  in  maxilla?  from  the  mounds. 
One  of  the  molar  teeth  from  this  burial  has  had  a  triangular  piece 
removed  from  its  crown  (fig  21,/).  Along  one  edge  of  the  gap  left 
the  tooth  is  carious. 


72  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  t bull.  €4 

Mingled  with  the  human  bones  were  found:  (a)  A  flat,  oblong  ob- 
ject, made  of  finely  polished  bone,  1  inch  broad  and  one-tenth  inch 
thick.  Its  original  length  could  not  be  determined,  as  the  upper 
part  had  been  broken  away,  (b)  Three  beads,  one  of  polished  green- 
stone, two  of  polished  red  shell;  one  of  the  latter  was  1$  inches  long, 
with  two  incomplete  perforations  passing  through  it  longitudinally. 
It  had  probably  been  intended  to  form  part  of  a  wristlet,  (c)  Parts 
of  three  small  obsidian  knives  which  had  evidently  seen  considerable 
use,  as  their  edges  were  much  chipped,  (d)  The  curious  object  shown 
in  figure  21,  d,  front  view,  and  e,  side  view.  It  is  made  of  cop- 
per, and  was  evidently  used  as  tweezers,  either  for  the  removal  of 
hair,  for  which  purpose  it  would  be  admirably  adapted,  as  the  lower 
expanded  parts  of.  the  blades  when  pressed  together  come  into  such 
close  apposition  that  the  smallest  and  most  delicate  hair  can  be 
removed  by  means  of  them;1  or  for  the  extraction  of  small  thorns 
from  the  skin.  Landa  mentions  the  fact  that  the  Maya  were  in  the 
habit  of  removing  the  hairs  from  their  chins  and  lips,  but  if  this  little 
implement  was  the  only  one  employed  for  the  purpose  the  custom  can 
not  have  been  a  very  common  one  in  this  locality,  as  no  other 
similar  specimen  was  found  in  any  of  the  mounds.  Passing  from 
north  to  south  through  the  mound,  about  8  feet  from  its  center,  were 
two  parallel  rows  of  limestone  flags,  set  perpendicularly,  about  18 
inches  apart.  Against  the  outer  of  these  rows  lay  a  considerable 
accumulation  of  animal  bones,  probably  those  of  the  tapir.  In  the 
space  between  the  outer  row  of  flags  and  the  edge  of  the  mound 
were  found  10  oblong  blocks  of  limestone,  averaging  18  by  10  inches, 
the  upper  surfaces  of  which  were  hollowed  out  to  a  depth  of  3  or  4 
inches.  These  were  probably  intended  as  water  receptacles  for  the 
use  of  fowls  or  small  animals  kept  about  the  home,  as  precisely  sim- 
ilar small  stone  troughs  are  made  and  used  by  the  modern  Indians 
for  this  purpose.  The  space  between  the  rows  of  flags  was  floored 
with  mortar,  but  nothing  was  found  within  it. 

Mound  No.  5  A 

Mound  No.  5  A  (No.  28  on  the  plan,  fig.  14)  was  situated 
within  a  few  yards  of  the  opening  into  the  circular  earthwork 
attached  to  Mound  No.  7.  It  was  long  and  narrow,  nowhere  ex- 
ceeding 2  feet  in  height.  It  was  built  throughout  of  small  limestone 
bowlders,  mixed  with  a  large  proportion  of  black  earth.  The  limits 
of  the  mound  were  difficult  to  define,  as  the  earth  of  which  it  was 

1  Lancia,  in  mentioning  the  beardlessness  of  the  Yucatecans  at  the  time  of  the  conquest,  says  it  was 
reported  as  being  brought  about  by  applying  hot  cloths  to  the  chins  of  the  children.  This  seems  improb- 
able. "  No  criavan  barbas,  y  dezian  que  les  quemavan  los  rostros  sus  madres  con  paiios  calientes,  siendo 
ninos,  por  que  no  les  naciessen,  y  que  agora  crian  barbas  aunque  muy  asperas  como  cerdas  de  tocines." — 
Landa,  op.  cit.,  p.  114. 

The  pure-blood  Indians  of  the  present  day  have  but  a  very  scanty  growth  of  hair  on  the  face  and  pubes, 
and  in  some  cases  even  the  few  straggling  hairs  which  they  possess  are  pulled  out. 


gann]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  73 

built  had  been  washed  down  and  mingled  with  the  surrounding  soil 
to  so  great  an  extent  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  determine  where 
one  began  and  the  other  ended.  This  mound  or  ridge  has  not  as 
yet  been  completely  explored,  but  in  the  part  which  has  already  been 
dug  down  two  interments  were  found.  The  first  was  quite  super- 
ficial, about  1  foot  below  the  surface,  near  the  eastern  extremity  of 
the  ridge.  The  bones  were  those  of  a  well-developed  male,  of  rather 
unusual  height  and  muscular  development  for  a  Maya  Indian;  they 
were  in  an  exceptionally  good  state  of  preservation,  though  not  pro- 
tected from  the  surrounding  earth  by  cist  or  burial  chamber.  Un- 
fortunately, the  skull  was  smashed  into  small  fragments  by  a  careless 
blow  of  the  pickax  before  it  was  realized  that  a  burial  existed  at  the 
spot.  The  body  appeared  to  have  been  buried  lying  upon  the  right  side, 
with  the  legs  flexed  at  the  knees  and  thighs.  From  one  of  the  incisor 
teeth  a  quadranglar  piece  had  been  cleanly  removed  (fig.  21,  g). 
Unfortunately,  the  tooth  in  contact  with  it  on  the  other  side  could  not 
be  found,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  ascertain  whether  a  correspond- 
ing piece  had  been  removed  from  this  also.  The  tooth  was  much 
worn  at  the  cutting  edge.  Landa  describes  a  grinding  down  of  the 
teeth  to  a  sawlike  edge,  for  ornamental  purposes,  practiced  by  the 
Yucatecans  at  the  time  of  the  conquest,1  and  it  seems  probable  that 
this  tooth  was  operated  on  for  a  similar  purpose. 

With  the  bones  were  found:  (a)  An  oblong  piece  of  marble-like 
stone,  2  inches  long,  1£  inches  broad,  and  1  inch  deep,  polished  on 
all  its  surfaces,  probably  used  for  smoothing  or  burnishing;  (b)  what 
appeared  to  be  a  piece  broken  from  a  rubbing  stone  which  had  been 
squared,  and  which  showed  marks  on  its  upper  surface  indicating 
that  it  had  been  used  for  giving  an  edge  to  stone  implements;  (c) 
fragments  of  rough  unpainted  pottery. 

The  second  interment  was  that  of  a  child  8  to  10  years  of  age. 
The  site  of  this  burial  was  within  a  few  feet  of  the  first,  at  a  depth 
of  about  a  foot  below  the  surface.  The  bones,  which  were  in  a  fair 
state  of  preservation,  were  in  contact  with  the  earth  of  which  the 
mound  was  built.  Tho  corpse  appeared  to  have  been  laid  on  the 
side,  with  the  logs  drawn  up.  With  the  bones  were  found  only  a 
few  ornaments  broken  from  pottery  incense  burners,  as  ear  plugs, 
small  animal  heads,  and  part  of  a  quilted  breastplate. 

This  mound  was  probably  of  a  much  later  date  than  the  other 
mounds  described  at  Santa  Rita.  It  is  merely  an  irregular  ridge 
built  of  earth  and  stones,  while  the  earlier  mounds  just  referred  to 
arc  well  defined  and  constructed  of  blocks  of  limestone  with  rubble, 
limestone  dust,   and   mortar  filling  in  the  interstices.     Tho  bones, 

•  ••  Tenian  por  costumhre  acerrarse  las  tllentes  dexundolos  como  diente  de  sierra  y  esto  tenian  por  galan- 
teria,  y  h  i?.ian  etc  officio  vlej&s,  limandolos  con  ciertas  picdras  y  agua."-  Landa,  op.  cit.,  p.  1S2.  Simi- 
larly filed  teeth  have  been  discovered  at  Copau  and  in  caves  at  Loltun.  See  Joyce,  Mexican  An-nando^y, 
p.  2J4. 


74 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


fBULL.  64 


though  placed  under  the  most  unfavorable  conditions,  having 
been  in  direct  contact  with  the  damp  earth,  are  in  an  excellent 
state  of  preservation,  far  better,  indeed,  than  even  the  best  preserved 
of  those  in  the  other  mounds  where  the  conditions  are  decidedly 
more  favorable.  The  skeletons  of  children  are  practically  never 
found  in  the  other  mounds,  as  the  bones  have  long  since  disappeared 
completely,  while  here  we  find  the  bones  of  a  child  under  12  years 
of  age  in  a  fairly  good  state  of  preservation.  There  are  a  number  of 
these  sepulchral  ridges  at  Santa  Rita,  many  of  them  hardly  distin- 
guishable from  the  surrounding  soil;  they  are  all  seemingly  of  much 
more  recent  date  than  the  other  mounds,  and  are  probably  the  work 
of  Maya  Indian  tribes  who  flourished  long  after  the  conquest. 


%&&& 
£?£%?£  $ 


CAPPING  OFFARTH 


AlT£R^AT/^0  LAYERS 
OF  MORTAR  ANO 
SMALL  RUBBLE 


.  BASE"  OFAfO(//VD 


Fig.  22. — Diagram  of  Mound  No.  6. 


Mound  No.  6 


Mound  No.  6  was  situated  near  the  southwestern  boundary  of  Santa 
Rita.  The  mound  was  nearly  circular,  with  flattened  top,  25  yards  in 
diameter,  and  10  feet  high  at  its  highest  point.  Toward  the  southern 
side  of  the  mound  was  unearthed  a  wall  (fig.  22,  A)  2  feet  thick, 
2  feet  high,  and  about  15  yards  long.  From  the  ends  of  the  wall 
roughly  made  masses  of  limestone  and  mortar  (fig.  22,  BB)  passed 
almost  through  the  mound,  inclosing  a  rectangular  space,  C.  The 
wall  was  evidently  the  remains  of  an  older  structure,  as  it  was 
built  of  well-squared  stones  and  had  been  broken  down  at  both  the 
top  and  sides.  The  masses  of  masonry  (fig.  22,  BB)  were  5  to  6  feet 
thick  by  about  5  feet  high.  The  space  C  was  filled  with  alternating 
layers  of  mortar  and  small  rubble.  The  spaces  (fig.  22,  FFF)  at  the 
periphery  of  the  mound  were  filled  with  rubble  mixed  with  earth. 


BUREAU   OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN   64      PLATE  12 


METATES   AND    BRAZOS    FROM    MOUND    NO.  6 


BUREAU    OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN   64      PLATE  13 


a.   SMALL   POTTERY   SEAL 


b.    BOWL   IN    WHICH    SKULL  WAS    FOUND 


c.   SKULL 
Length,  15.9  cm.;  breadth,  1.J.9  cm.;  height,  13.3  cm.;  circumference,  47.9  cm. 


oann]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  75 

The  rubble,  wherever  found  in  the  mound,  contained  large  quanti- 
ties of  potsherds,  together  with  flint  chips  and  a  few  hammerstones. 
In  the  spaces  FFF  were  found  numerous  fragments  of  metates  and 
brazos,  with  one  unbroken  specimen  of  each  (pi.  12).  At  the  points 
marked  (fig.  22,  1,  2,  3,  4)  four  human  interments  were  encountered  at 
a  depth  of  12  to  18  inches  beneath  the  surface.  The  bodies  had  been 
buried  lying  on  the  back,  fully  extended.  The  bones  were  in  a  very 
poor  state  of  preservation,  and  with  each  interment  were  found  a  few 
flint  chips,  hammerstones,  broken  spearheads,  obsidian  knives,  and 
one  or  two  small,  very  roughly  made,  round  cooking  pots.  The  whole 
mound  was  removed  to  provide  material  for  the  Corozal  streets.  On 
reaching  the  ground  level  it  was  found  that  a  series  of  trenches 
had  been  cut  through  the  earth  beneath,  to  the  bedrock,  and  filled  in 
with  small  rubble.  Figure  23  gives  a  plan  of  these  trenches,  which  are 
in  the  form  of  two  parallelograms,  measuring  9  yards  by  6  yards, 
joined  by  a  third  of  approximately  the  same  area.  The  trenches 
varied  from  3  to  4  feet  in  breadth  and  from  1£  to  S\  feet  in  depth, 
according  to  the  thickness  of  the  layer  of  earth  over  the  bedrock. 
The  space  marked  figure  23,  A,  contained  remains  of  at  least  30 
interments;  some  of  these  were  in  small  semicircular  excavations 
made  in  the  surrounding  earth  from  the  sides  of  the  trenches;  these  are 
shown  at  figure  23,  D;  others  were  made  in  holes  dug  in  the  earth 
at  various  points  within  the  space  A.  The  bodies  buried  in  the  ex- 
cavations at  the  sides  of  the  trenches  seem  to  have  been  crowded  in, 
in  a  variety  of  positions,  in  order  to  accommodate  themselves  to 
the  size  and  shape  of  the  cavity.  Most  of  those  in  the  space  A 
had  been  buried  head  downward,  the  skulls  resting  in  some  cases 
in  earthenware  bowls,  with  the  back  bent,  legs  flexed,  and  knees 
drawn  up  against  the  chin.  Nearly  all  these  bones  were  decayed 
and  friable,  and  could  not  be  removed  without  crumbling  away. 
The  only  exception  was  the  burial  marked  figure  23,  D',  from  which 
the  upper  part  of  the  skull  was  recovered  almost  entire,  though 
the  facial  bones  and  lower  jaw  were  lost.  This  skull  (pi.  13,  c) 
rested  in  the  bowl  shown  in  plate  13,  b,  a  handsome  piece  of  pottery, 
standing  upon  four  nearly  globular  hollow  legs,  with  slits  in  their 
sides,  and  within  them  small  spheres  of  clay  which  rattled  when 
the  bowl  was  moved.  It  is  painted  yellow  and  red  throughout, 
and  is  nicely  polished.  A  great  number  of  objects  were  found 
accompanying  the  bones  in  the  space  A.  These  included  flint 
ax  heads  and  spearheads,  flint  scrapers,  and  hammerstones,  two 
obsidian  spearheads,  and  fragments  of  obsidian  knives,  shell  and 
clay  beads,  and  a  small  cylindrical  pottery  seal  about  3  inches 
in  length,  with  a  geometrical  device  in  low  relief  stamped  upon 
it  (pi.  13,  a).  The  bones  of  the  peccary,  curassow,  snake,  and  of 
some  variety  of  fish  were  also  found,  together  with   the  shells    of 


76 


BUREAU   OP  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  64 


conches,  cockles,  snails,  and  hooties  (a  large  variety  of  fresh- 
water snail  still  eaten  by  the  natives).  A  block  of  crystalline  lime- 
stone, 18  inches  long  by  8  inches  high  and  12  inches  broad,  was 
found  in  one  of  the  semicircular  pits  leading  from  the  trench  at 
the  upper  border  of  space  A,  figure  23.  It  was  traversed  by  14  longi- 
tudinal grooves  on  its  upper  surface,  which  was  slightly  concave; 
each  groove  was  \  inch  broad  by  \  inch  deep,  quite  smooth,  and 
nearly  straight.  The  stone  had  seemingly  been  used  as  a  hone  for 
giving  an  edge  to  small  stone  implements. 


4P 


Fig.  23.— Diagram  of  trenches  in  Mound  No.  6. 

Extending  out  toward  the  northeast  from  the  main  mound  was  a 
low  structure  (fig.  22,  G)  4  feet  in  height  and  25  yards  in  length. 
It  was  composed  throughout  of  layers  of  clay,  rubble,  and 
limestone  dust,  not  very  clearly  separated.  Three  separate  inter- 
ments were  found  beneath  this  mound  near  its  center  (fig.  22,  H), 
the  bones  in  all  of  which  were  very  much  decayed.  From  the  first 
of  these  the  shallow  bowl  (fig.  24,  a),  7\  inches  in  diameter  by 
1  \  inches  deep,  together  with  the  vase  d,  8  inches  in  height,  were 
taken.  The  vase  was  of  rather  fine  pottery,  painted  a  uniform 
dark  red  throughout.     Nothing  else  was  found  with  this  interment. 


gann]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


77 


From  the  second  grave  were  taken  a  bowl  exactly  similar  to 
that  shown  in  figure  24,  a,  two  flat  dishes  12  inches  in  diameter 
(fig.  24,  e),  and  a  small  polished  bone  ring  1  inch  in  length,  seemingly  a 
section  from  one  of  the  larger  long  bones  of  some  large  animal.  The 
vessel  g,  6  inches  in  diameter,  was  also  found  with  this  burial;  it  is 
made  of  fine  pottery,  painted  red,  and  possesses  a  curious  upturned 
spout,  which  bends  inward  toward  the  rim  of  the  pot  to  such  an 
extent  that  it  would  be  impossible  either  to  drink  or  pour  out  the 
contents  therefrom.  These  curious  pots,  usually  with  the  spout 
parallel  to  the  perpendicular  axis  of  the  vessel,  are  quite  common 


Flo.  24.— Howls,  vases,  and  dishes  found  in  Mound  No.  6. 

among  Maya  pottery  from  this  district ;  they  were  supposed  to  have 
been  used  as  chocolate  pots,  but  drinking  from  them  must  have 
been  a  feat  of  legerdemain. 

From  the  third  grave  came  two  bowls,  both  almost  spherioal,  the 
one  12  inches,  tho  other  6  inches,  in  diameter  (fig.  24,  c).  At  the 
point  K,  near  the  end  of  the  mound  G  (fig.  22),  three  interments 
were  found,  very  close  together,  on  the  ground  level;  these  had 
evidently  been  contained  at  one  time  in  a  small  oval  cist,  built  of 
rough  blooks  of  limestone,  which  had  now  completely  caved  in.  With 
the  bones  were  found  tho  vases  shown  in  figure  24,  />,/,  //,  of  tho  same 
red-painted  pottery  as  was  found  elsewhere  in  tho  mound.  Six  well- 
made  bono  awls,  or  lance  heads,  each  about  6  inches  in  length, 


78 


BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  64 


together  with  a  heap  of  the  shells  of  some  large  bivalve,  one  of  which 
was  polished  and  perforated  for  use  as  an  ornament,  were  also  found 
among  these  bones.  The  stones  of  which  the  oist  had  been  built, 
the  bones,  and  the  objects  accompanying  them  were  so  inextricably 
mixed  that  it  was  impossible  to  tell  which  objects  belonged  to  each 
set  of  bones.  Passing  through  the  long  axis  of  this  mound  was  a 
rubble-filled  trench,  3  feet  in  breadth,  dug  down  to  the  bedrock, 

exactly  similar  in  structure  to  those  already 
described.  No  interments  were  found  at  the 
sides  of  this  trench,  which  is  shown  in  figure 
23,  E. 

Mound  No.  6  A 

Mound  No.  6  A,  another  of  the  group  of 
mounds  adjoining  the  southwesterly  bound- 
ary of  Santa  Rita,  measured  18  feet  by  15 
feet  at  the  base,  by  about  3  feet  high  at  the 

Flag  of  limestone  shown  in  D,  fig.  25.     ,.,,  .,  ,  ,      ...     ,,  ,         .       . 

highest  pomt,  and  was  built  throughout  ol 
earth,  large  blocks  of  limestone,  and  limestone  dust.  The  mound 
rested  directly  on  the  limestone  formation.  Into  this,  near  the  cen- 
ter of  the  mound,  an  oval  excavation  had  been  made  (see  C  C,  fig. 


Fig.  25.— .4,  skull;  B.  limestone  formation;  C,  excavation;  D,  grooved  flag  in  situ;  E,  projecting  lip. 

25)  about  10  inches  in  depth,  and  in  size  just  large  enough  to  con- 
tain the  skull  which  was  found  within  it.  A  ledgelike  projection 
was  left  at  one  edge  of  the  excavation  (see  E,  fig.  25),  and  just 
beneath  this  rested  the  point  of  the  jaw.  A  large  heavy  flag  of  lime- 
stone (see  D,  fig.  25),  from  which  a  semicircular  segment  had  been 
chipped,  was  placed  above  the  excavation  opposite  the  lip,  so  that 
the  groove  in  the  stone  inclosed  the  neck  and  clamped  the  skull 


gann]         MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  79 

tightly  down  in  the  little  hole  which  had  heen  made  to  receive  it. 
On  each  side  of  the  skull  the  femora  wore  found,  in  a  nearly  vertical 
position,  condyles  downward,  and  hetween  the  femora  many  frag- 
ments of  other  bones  were  brought  to  light,  including  the  tibiae,  arm 
bones,  and  vertebrae.  Resting  upon  the  limestone  flag  which  covered 
the  skull  lay  a  large,  rudely  made  chert  hammerstone,  8  inches  long 
by  4  inches  broad,  which  had  probably  been  used  in  chipping  out 
the  semicircular  groove  to  fit  the  neck.  Near  the  center  of  this  mound, 
2  feet  below  the  surface,  two  very  neatly  made  flint  hammerstones 
were  found.  The  dimensions  of  this  skull  were:  Length,  14.22  cm.; 
breadth,  16.76  cm.;  circumference,  48.26  cm.;  cephalic  index,  123. 
The  base  of  the  skull  was  so  much  damaged  that  the  height  could 
not  be  ascertained.  The  extreme  breadth  in  comparison  with  the 
length,  giving  it  a  remarkably  brachicephalio  appearance,  was  possi- 
bly, to  some  extent  at  least,  the  result  of  post-mortem  compression 
from  before  backward  within  the  little  cavity  which  contained  it. 

Mound  No.  7 

Mound  No.  7,  situated  very  close  to  No.  6  A,  was  oval  in  shape, 
measuring  30  yards  by  10  yards  at  the  base,  and  8  feet  high  along 
the  summit.  It  was  built  throughout  of  large  blocks  of  limestone, 
limestone  dust,  and  a  small  proportion  of  earth.  It  rested  upon  the 
natural  limestone  formation,  into  which,  near  the  western  end  of  the 
mound,  a  shallow  oval  pit  18  inches  in  length  by  10  inches  in  depth 
had  been  dug.  In  tins  was  found  a  somewhat  imperfect  skull,  resting 
with  tho  foramen  magnum  uppermost.  The  other  bones,  winch  were 
distributed  irregularly  around  the  hole,  were  in  a  poor  state  of  preser- 
vation. Upon  one  side  of  the  skull  lay  a  small  shallow  bowl,  with 
four  hollow  legs,  each  containing  a  pellet  of  dry  clay  loose  in  its 
interior;  and  upon  the  other  side  a  small  three-legged  vase.  Both  of 
these  were  of  rather  crude  pottery,  painted  dark-red  throughout  and 
polished.  Two  other  excavations  similar  to  this  were  found  in  the  lime- 
stone beneath  this  mound,  each  containing  fragments  of  a  skull  in  a 
very  advanced  state  of  decay,  surrounded  by  fragments  of  tho  other 
bones.  No  additional  pottery  or  other  objects  were  found  beside 
them.  The  two  mounds  last  described  are  the  only  ones  in  which 
this  peculiar  method  of  interment  appeal's  to  have  been  employed. 
Tho  procedure  seems  to  have  been  somewhat  as  follows:  First,  the 
earth  capping  was  removed  from  the  limestone  rock,  over  the  area  to 
be  occupied  by  tho  mound ;  next,  shallow  oval  pits  were  dug  in  tho 
rock  into  which  the  skulls  wore  wedded;  each  body  was  bent,  and  tho 
thighs  wore  flexed  on  tho  abdomen,  so  that  the  knees  touched  the 
rock  on  each  side  of  tho  hoad;  finally,  tho  mound  was  built  up  of 
limestone  dust,  oarth,  and  blocks  of  limestone  around  tho  body,  in 
this  position. 


80 


BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


[BULL.  K. 


Mound  No.  8 

Mound  No.  8,  situated  very  close  to  Mound  No.  7,  was  roughly- 
circular,  36  feet  in  diameter  and  4  feet  high  on  its  flattened  top.  It 
was  built  throughout  of  earth,  limestone  dust,  and  blocks  of  lime- 
stone. Projecting  from  the  western  edge  of  the  mound  was  a  large, 
roughly  hewn  block  of  limestone,  3  feet  by  4  feet,  and  8  inches  in 
thickness.  Running  through  the  center  of  the  mound  from  east  to 
west  were  two  parallel  rows  of  limestone  flags,  2  feet  apart,  projecting 
18  inches  from  the  limestone  rock  upon  which  the  mound  was  erected 
and  in  which  they  were  embedded.  Near  the  center  of  the  mound, 
between  the  rows  of  limestone  flags  and  resting  on  the  earth,  covered 
only  with  limestone  dust,  was  found  a  single  interment.  The  skull 
is  shown  in  plate  14.  Its  dimensions  are:  Length,  17.01  cm.; 
breadth,  16.51  cm.;  height,  10.68  cm.;  circumference,  51.30  cm.; 
cephalic  index,  97.  The  body,  which  was  stretched  at  full  lengtji, 
had  probably  been  laid  face  downward,  as  the  bones  of  the  forearms, 
also  shown  in  plate   14,  were  found  beneath  the  skull.     With  the 


Fig.  26. — Circular  openings  leading  into  natural  cavity. 

bones  of  the  hands  were  found  four  copper  rings,  considerably 
oxidized;  three  were  plain  narrow  bands,  while  the  fourth  was  a 
broad  flat  band  decorated  with  incised  double  volutes.-  Some  of  the 
phalanges  were  colored  a  bright-greenish  tinge,  from  contact  with  the 
rings.  Three  of  the  rings  and  three  phalanges  are  shown  in  plate 
14.  These  bones  were  all  in  a  remarkably  good  state  of  preservation, 
probably  owing  to  the  fact  that  they  were  completely  surrounded  by 
fine  limestone  dust. 

Within  a  few  yards  of  this  mound  was  the  opening  of  a  small 
chultun,  with  steps  leading  to  the  interior.  It  was  oval  in  shape, 
15  feet  long,  and  at  one  time  had  been  covered  with  plaster,  which 
had  nearly  all  peeled  off.  The  floor  was  covered  with  earth,  of 
which  there  was  a  pyramidal  heap  under  the  opening.  Nothing 
was  found  in  this  chultun  except  great  quantities  of  fragments  of 
large,  rough  earthenware  water  vessels. 

About  300  yards  to  the  east  of  the  mound  three  circular  openings 
were  found  (see  AAA,  fig.  26)  leading  into  a  large  irregular  natural 
cavity  (see  C,fig.  26)  formed  in  the  limestone  (see  BB,  fig.  26).     Each  of 


b? 


BUREAU   OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN  64     PLATE  14 


SKULL  AND    BONES    (ROM    MOUND    NO.  8 


ganx]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  81 

these  openings  was  about  2  foot  in  diameter,  and  close  to  one  of  them 
a  circular  slab  of  stono,  6  inches  in  thickness,  and  of  about  the  same 
diameter  as  the  opening,  was  found,  which  had  probably  been  used 
as  a  cover  for  the  latter.  This  chultun,  unliko  the  first  one,  was  of 
purely  natural  formation;  tho  walls,  which  were  rough  and  irregular, 
showed  no  signs  of  tool  marks.  The  chamber  varied  in  height  from 
8  to  9  feet  beneath  the  openings,  where  it  was  highest,  to  2  to  3  feet 
at  tho  sides.  There  was  a  considerable  accumulation  of  earth  upon 
the  floor  (see  DD,  fig.  26),  which  had  evidently  fallen  and  been  blown  in, 
as  it  was  collected  in  two  heaps  beneath  the  openings.  There  were 
no  stone  steps  leading  down  into  this  chultun,  and  access  must  have 
beon  gained  to  the  interior  by  moans  of  wooden  ladders,  which  had 
long  since  disappeared.  Numbers  of  potsherds,  shells,  pieces  of 
charcoal,  clay  beads,  and  fragments  of  flint  and  obsidian  implements 
were  found  upon  tho  floor.  Several  skeletons  of  small  mammals 
were  also  found  among  tho  earth,  but  these  creatures  had  probably 
fallen  in  after  the  chultun  ceased  to  bo  used,  and  had  been  unable 
to  get  out. 

At  a  distance  of  less  than  half  a  mile  from  the  last-mentioned  chultun 
another  was  discovered  under  somewhat  curious  circumstances.  A 
large  flat  mound  was  completely  removed  for  the  sake  of  the  stone 
and  limestone  dust  which  it  contained,  to  be  used  in  repairing  the 
Corozal  streets.  About  tho  center  of  the  mound,  at  the  ground 
level,  a  heavy  circular  flag  of  limestone,  2  feet  4  inches  in  diameter, 
was  brought  to  light.  On  removing  tins  it  was  found  to  cover  a 
round  well-like  opening,  which  expanded  below  into  a  small  chultun, 
12  feet  long  by  9  feet  in  greatest  diameter.  Tho  chamber  was  egg- 
shaped  and  showed  no  signs  of  having  ever  been  stucco-covered. 
From  the  opening  a  short  flight  of  steps,  cut  in  the  rock,  led  to 
the  bottom  of  the  chultun.  Nothing  was  found  in  tins  chultun  with 
the  exception  of  two  small  bowls  of  rather  coarse  earthenware, 
painted  red  and  polished;  one  almost  globular  in  shape,  6  inches  in 
diameter;  the  other  circular,  flat-bottomed,  3  \  inches  in  height.  The 
mound  which  covered  this  chultun  appeared  to  have  been  one  of  the 
commonest  kind  of  burial  mounds.  At  its  summit  fragments  of  a 
rude  circular  earthenware  pot  were  found,  and  near  its  center  frag- 
ments of  human  bones,  together  with  tliree  flint  hammers  tones  and 
two  small  round  vessels,  one  of  light  yellow,  the  other  of  yellowish-red, 
pottery. 

One  of  tho  most  remarkable  of  tho  chultuns  found  in  this  area  is 
situated  at  San  Andres,  within  a  mile  of  tho  village  of  Corozal.  It 
was  accidentally  found  by  some  coolies  in  digging  marl,  and  as, 
unfortunately,  the  entire  roof  of  the  larger  chamber  and  a  consider- 
able part  of  that  of  the  smaller  had  caved  in,  it  was  impossible  to 
70800°— 18— Bull.  04 G 


82  .  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

discover  how  it  had  been  entered  from  outside,  as  no  trace  of  steps 
remained.  A  ground  plan  of  this  chultun  is  shown  in  figure  27.  The 
smallchamber,  A,  is  8  feet  long,  7  feet  broad,  and  5  feet  6  inches 
high  in  the  center;  it  is  cut  out  of  solid  rock.  The  large  chamber 
(C)  is  15  feet  in  diameter,  but  as  nearly  the  entire  roof  has  fallen 
in,  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  its  exact  height.  The  chambers  are 
partially  separated  by  a  wall  (B)  built  of  rough  blocks  of  stone  and 
tough  mortar,  which  has  been  partly  broken  down.  In  the  side  of 
the  smallchamber,  opposite  the  wall,  are  three  oblong  shafts  (D,  D,  D, 
fig.  27)  cut  into  the  rock,  by  the  side  of  the  chamber  wall,  which 


Fig.  27.— Ground  plan  of  chultun. 

is  here  nearly  perpendicular.  Each  of  these  is  about  1  foot  in  depth 
by  8  to  9  inches  in  breadth,  and  is  separated  from  the  chamber  by 
a  single  row  of  bricks  (E,  E,  E,  fig.  27)  mortared  together,  reach- 
ing from  the  roof  to  the  floor,  so  that  there  is  no  communication 
between  the  shafts  and  the  chamber.  Each  shaft  opened  origi- 
nally on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  but  the  openings  had  become 
blocked  by  vegetable  refuse  from  the  surrounding  bush.  The  bricks 
which  fill  in  one  side  of  each  shaft  are  of  two  kinds.  The  first,  by 
far  the  more  numerous,  are  made  of  sun-dried  clay,  yellowish  in  color, 
and  very  friable:  they  contain  considerable  powdered  marl.  They 
measure  S  by  4  by  2f  inches.  The  bricks  of  the  second  kind  also 
are  made  of  clay,  mixed  with  many  pebbles;  they  have  been  fired, 
are  of  a  reddish  color,  far  harder  and  tougher  than  the  first  variety; 
they  measure  8  by  4  by  2  i  inches.  Nothing  was  found  in  either 
chamber  except  a  few  potsherds  of  various  kinds. 


gann]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  83 

These  underground  chambers,  or  chultuns,  seem  to  be  fairly  com- 
mon throughout  Yucatan.  Considerable  doubt  exists  as  to  the  uses 
to  which  they  were  put.1  It  seems  probable  that  those  the  walls  of 
which  were  plastered  with  an  impervious,  cement  lining  were  intended 
as  water  receptacles,  since  they  could  easily  have  been  filled  by 
drainage  from  the  thatched  roofs  of  buildings  in  the  vicinity,  which 
have  long  since  completely  disappeared.  Though  the  southern  part  of 
Yucatan,  unlike  the  northern,  is  fairly  well  watered,  plastered  chultuns 
are  not  infrequently  found  there,  but  always  situated  at  consider- 
able distances  from  a  good  permanent  water  supply,  as  a  lagoon 
or  river.  The  uncemented  chultuns  would  not  hold  water,  and  had 
probably  been  used  as  storehouses  for  corn  and  other  provisions. 
Some  of  these  chambers  were  undoubtedly  used  as  burial  places,  as  one 
at  Platon,  on  the  Old  River,2  was  covered  by  a  burial  mound,  and  itself 
contained  human  bones ;  but  it  is  possible  that  their  use  for  this  purpose 
may  have  been  secondary  only.  The  San  Andres  chultun  is  somewhat 
puzzling,  as  it  was  certainly  not  a  reservoir  for  water,  nor  were  any 
traces  of  human  burial  found  within  it.  It  had  probably  been  used  as 
a  storehouse  for  food,  though  it  is  difficult  to  understand  the  object 
of  the  oblong  shafts,  leading  into  the  open  air,  found  at  the  side  of  the 
smaller  chamber,  as  they  must  have  been  quite  useless  for  ventilating 
purposes,  not  having  any  opening  into  the  chamber  its.elf  through 
which  the  air  might  circulate. 

Mound  No.  9 

Mound  No.  9,  situated  close  to  the  chultun,  with  three  openings, 
was  oval  in  shape  with  flattened  summit,  44  feet  in  breadth,  66  feet 
in  length,  and  14  feet  high  at  its  highest  point.  On  removing  the 
summit  of  the  mound  to  a  depth  of  about  4  feet  the  floor  of  a  building, 
with  parts  of  the  walls,  was  exposed.  The  cap  of  the  mound,  covering 
the  ruins  of  the  building,  was  composed  of  blocks  of  marl,  clay, 
rubble,  and  limestone.  The  lower  part  of  the  mound,  upon  which 
the  building  stood,  was  constructed  of  large  blocks  of  limestone  mor- 
tared together,  forming  a  solid  block  of  masonry.  The  building  was 
in  a  very  ruinous  condition;  as  mucli  of  its  ground  plan  as  could  be 

1  Tozzer,  in  commenting  on  these  chultuns  at  Nakum,  says:  "There  is  evidently  no  closo  connection, 
as  in  Yucatan,  between  the  water  supply  and  these  underground  rooms.  In  fact  they  are  frequently  found 
near  sites  where  there  is  an  abundant  supply  of  water  throughout  the  year.  In  almost  no  case  do  we  find 
any  drainage  into  them.  They  are  usually  found  on  ground  slightly  higher  than  that  of  the  surrounding 
country.  In  this  respect  they  differ  from  those  in  Yucatan.  Another  point  against  their  use  as  storage  fur 
water  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  In  several  the  rock  from  which  they  are  excavated  is  porous,  and  the  walls 
do  not  seem  in  all  cases  to  have  been  covered  with  an  impervious  layer  of  plaster.  That  t  hey  were  used  in 
some  cases  for  the  storage  of  maize  and  other  foods  is  possible,  as  t  hey  are  generally  dry  and  would  be  suitable 
for  such  a  purpose.  That  some  were  used  for  burial  places  is  very  probable." — Tozzer,  A  Preliminary 
Study  of  the  Prehistoric  Ruins  of  Nakum,  Guatemala,  p.  191. 

1  <;ann:  On  Exploration  of  Two  Mounds  in  British  Honduras,  pp.  430-434;  On  the  Contents  of  Some 
Ancient  Mounds  in  Central  America,  pp.  30S-317. 


84 


BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  64 


traced  is  shown  in  figure  28.  The  walls,  A,  A,  A,  are  3  feet  4  inches 
in  thickness.  Such  parts  as  remain  standing  are  built  of  well-squared 
stones  held  together  by  mortar  (see  fig.  30).     They  are  covered  with 

stucco  inside,  which  is  con- 
noox  or  hard  polished  b  tinuous  with  the  cement  floor- 
ing of  the  rooms;  outside  they 
were  also  covered  with  stucco 
above  the  water  table(B,figs.  28 
and29)  but  nearly  all  of  thishad 
been  broken  away.  The  water 
table,  which  projects  3  inches 
from  the  wall,  is  12  inches  deep; 
it  is  built  of  well-squared 
stones  not  covered  with  stucco, 
and  is  continuous  below  (figs. 

29  and  30)  with  C,  a  layer  of 
hard  cement  18  inches  broad, 
which  apparently  ran  com- 
pletely round  the  building,  and 
possibly  acted  as  a  drain  to 
carry  off  the  water  after  heavy 
tropical  showers.  The  main 
room  was  8  feet  in  breadth 
and  had  probably  been  about 

30  feet  in  length;  with  four 
doors  opening  into  it,  two  on 
each  side.  This  was  floored 
with  very  hard,  smooth,  pol- 
ished cement,  which  even  now 
is  in  an  excellent  state  of  pres- 
ervation; this  flooring  is  con- 
tinuous through  the  doorways 

with  the  top  of  the  water  table,  with  which  it  is  on  the  same  level. 

Nothing  was  found  in  excavating  this  mound,  with  the  exception  of  a 

fragment  of  a  conch-shell  trumpet,  a  piece  of 

an  obsidian  knife,  numerous  potsherds,  and 

half  of  a  flint  paint  grinder,  with  traces  of 

green  paint  still  adherent  to  it.     All  of  these 

objects  were  found  on  the  floor  of  the  main 

room. 

Mounds  erected  over  the  ruins  of  buildings 
are  extremely  common  all  through  this  part 
of  the  Maya  area;  some  are  very  large,  covering  buildings  which 
had  been  placed  on  lofty  stone  pyramids;  some  are  very  small, 
as  when  they  cover  buildings  of  a  single  small  room,  built  almost 


Fig.  28.— Ground  plan  of  Mound  No.  9. 


Fig. 


29.— Wall  construction  of 
Mound  No.  9. 


gann]         MAYA  INDIANS  OP  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


85 


on  the  ground  level.  All  the  buildings  are  in  ruins,  all  are  raised 
more  or  less  on  stone  platforms  above  the  ground  level,  and  all 
show  traces  of  having  been  covered  with  stucco,  both  internally  and 
externally.  In  some  cases  this  stucco  is  very  beautifully  decorated 
in  colored  devices,  as  in  the  mound  already  described  at  Santa  Rita;  * 
in  others  the  stucco  is  molded  in  various  designs  and  ornaments, 
which  may  or  may  not  be  colored,  as  in  the  mound  at  Pueblo  Nuevo 
on  the  Rio  Nuevo,  presently  to  be  described.  Most  of  these  mounds 
contain  nothing  except  the  building  which  they  cover,  but  some  had 


Fig.  30.  -Details  of  Mound  No.  9. 

been  used  as  burial  places,  the  interments  evidently  having  taken 
place  after  the  building  had  been  covered  in,  as  they  are  found 
irregularly  distributed  through  the  loose  superstructure  which  forms 
the  cap  of  the  mound,  quite  close  to  the  surface.2 

'  Gann,  Mounds  in  Northern  Honduras,  pp.  666-680. 

2  The  interments  which  are  found,  superficially  placed  in  mounds  which  cover  buildings,  were  probaMy 
of  later  date,  as  Landa  distinctly  states  that  the,  owner  waa  buried  within  his  house.  "  Kn terra vanlos 
dentro  en  sus  casas  o  a  las  espaldas  dellas"  fLanda,  op  cit.,  p.  1%).  Moreover,  more  than  ono  of  these 
superficial  interments  are  found  in  mounds  covering  buildings,  and,  lastly,  human  remains  havo  been 
found  beneath  the  floors  of  ruined  houses,  whcro  one  would  naturally  expect  to  And  them. 


86  BUREAU    OF   AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY  ,     [bull.  64 

Mound  No.  10 

Vague  reports  had  been  in  circulation  for  some  years  as  to  the 
existence  of  a  mound  close  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Rio  Hondo, 
where  the  Indians  still  practiced  to  some  extent  their  ancient 
religion.  It  was  said  that  the  mound  contained  a  stone  chamber  in 
which  stood  on  a  stone  pedestal  a  life-sized  image,  painted  in  various 
colors,  and  that  around  the  walls  of  the  chamber  were  niches  in  which 
rested  life-sized  stone  turtles,  also  painted;  furthermore,  that  the 
bush  Indians  of  the  neighborhood  were  in  the  habit  of  coming  to  the 
mound  for  the  purpose  of  burning  incense  before  the  idol. 

The  mound  was  found  situated  quite  close  to  the  bank  of  the  Rio 
Hondo,  buried  in  the  bush  which  covers  this  part  of  Yucatan.  It  was 
80  feet  in  height,  350  feet  in  circumference,  conical  in  shape,  and  com- 
pletely covered  by  high  bush  continuous  with  that  of  the  surround- 
ing forest.  After  clearing  the  underbrush  from  the  mound  an  open- 
ing 3  feet  square  was  discovered  about  17  feet  from  the  summit 
of  the  mound  on  its  northern  aspect,  the  walls  of  which  were  faced 
with  cut  stone.  From  this  opening  a  low  passage  led  to  a  small 
stone-faced  chamber  8  feet  high,  6  feet  broad,  and  10  feet  long,  the 
floor  of  which  was  composed  of  earth  and  lime  well  beaten  down  to 
form  a  hard,  smooth  surface.  Projecting  from  the  walls  were  eight 
small  stone  brackets,  upon  winch  nothing  was  found.  No  trace 
whatever  was  seen  of  a  painted  image  or  of  turtles.  The  walls  and 
ceiling  of  the  room,  especially  the  latter,  were  considerably  blackened 
by  smoke,  possibly  caused  by  burning  incense. 

Excavation  was  commenced  at  once  in  the  floor  of  the  chamber. 
At  a  depth  of  8  inches  the  hard  floor  gave  place  to  soft  brown  sand, 
which  was  continuous  to  a  depth  of  2  feet,  where  several  small  deposits 
or  pockets  of  lime  were  found  inclosed  within  it,  each  of  which  con- 
tained a  number  of  obsidian  knives  and  small  cores.  The  knives  were 
deeply  indented  on  each  side  of  the  base,  as  if  to  facilitate  hafting. 
The  cores,  of  which  20  were  found,  were  slender  and  varied  from  1  to 
3  inches  in  length.  On  digging  down  through  an  additional  18  inches 
of  the  brown  sand  a  layer  of  lime  was  exposed  about  18  inches  in 
thickness,  filling  the  entire  lumen  of  the  chamber,  in  which  were  found 
irregularly  scattered  60  cruciform  objects,  finely  chipped  in  obsidian, 
each  from  3  to  4  inches  in  length  (fig.  3 1 ,  a) .  These  would  have  served 
as  either  arrowheads  or  small  javelin  heads,  or  possibly  were  intended- 
for  ceremonial  purposes  only.  With  them  were  a  single  pottery  vase 
and  two  small  triangular  j  avelin  heads  of  obsidian.  The  vase  (fig.  3 1 ,  h ) 
was  circular  in  shape,  6  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  long  piglike  face 
protruding  from  one  side.  It  was  made  of  dark-brownish  pottery, 
painted  red  and  finely  polished  externally.  It  was  filled  with  small 
mussel-like  bivalve  shells  embedded  in  lime.     A  number  of  these 


gann]         MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  87 

shells  were  found  also  closely  adjacent  to  the  vase  in  the  lime  which 
surrounded  it.  Beneath  the  layer  of  lime  lay  a  layer  of  brown 
sand,  3  feet  thick,  in  which  absolutely  nothing  was  found.  Below 
this  appeared  another  layer  of  lime,  mixed  with  sand,  4  feet  thick, 
near  the  bottom  of  which  were  found  40  human  skulls,  neatly  disposed 
in  rows.  These,  when  first  uncovered,  seemed  to  be  in  a  moderately 
good  state  of  preservation,  but  when  removed  from  their  bod  of  lime 
and  sand  they  crumbled  so  easily  that  it  was  found  impossible  to 
preserve  them.  The  skulls  were  all  placed  in  the  same  horizontal 
plane,  each  one  nearly  in  contact  with  its  neighbor.  No  other  bones 
were  found  with  them,  or  in  fact  in  any  other  part  of  this 
mound,  with  the  exception  of  two  small  oblong  objects  of  bone, 
about  2  inches  in  length,  each  still  bearing  traces  of  paint,  which 
were  discovered  among  the  skulls.  These  skulls  would  seem  to 
have  been  either  the  result  of  secondary  interments  or  the  re- 
mains of  sacrificial  victims  whose  bodies  were  either  eaten  or 
buried  elsewhere.     In  favor  of  the  first  theory  is   the   fact  that 


a  b 

Fig.  31.— Obsidian  object  and  pottery  vase  from  Mound  No.  10. 

the  Maya  did  not  practice  human  sacrifice  to  anything  like  the 
same  extent  that  their  neighbors,  the  Aztecs,  did,  and  slaughter 
involving  forty-odd  victims  must  have  been  practically  unknown 
among  them.  Furthermore,  in  one  or  two  instances  small  shallow 
stone-lined  graves,  covered  with  large  slabs  of  stone,  have  been  found 
at  and  around  the  bases  of  large  mounds,  and  it  seems  quite  possible 
that  these  graves  may  have  held  the  bodies  of  distinguished  dead  until 
their  skulls  were  in  a  fit  condition  to  bo  removed  to  the  mound  or 
until  a  sufficient  number  had  accumulated  to  make  it  worth  while 
opening  the  chamber  for  their  reception.  In  favor  of  the  second 
theory  is  the  fact  that,  judging  by  what  could  bo  seen  of  the  tooth 
and  lower  jaws,  all  the  skulls  were  of  individuals  in  the  prime  of  life, 
no  jaws  of  very  young  or  of  very  old  individuals  being  discovered. 
Immediately  beneath  the  skulls  wore  unearthed  12  objects  of  chort 
fashioned  with  great  care.  Seven  of  these  were  spearheads,  the  other  five 
of  eccentric  form.  The  spearheads  varied  in  length  from  3  7  cm.  (pi.  1 5,c) 
to  29  cm.  (pi.  15,/) ;  they  were  very  well  made,  some  from  gray,  others 


88  BUREAU   OF  AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

from  brownish-yellow,  chert.  .  The  eccentric  flints  comprised :  (a)  An 
animal  form,  possibly  meant  to  represent  a  bush  rabbit,  30  cm.  in 
longtli  from  the  forehead  to  the  tip  of  the  tail  (pi.  15,  a);  (b)  an 
animal  form,  evidently  meant  to  ropresent  a  turtle  or  tortoise,  28 
cm.  in  length  from  the  head  to  the  tip  of  the  tail  (pi.  15,  g) ;  (c)  a 
halberd-shaped  implement  (pi.  15,  h),  exquisitely  chipped  from  light- 
ochor-colored  chert,  44  cm.  in  its  greatest  length  by  19  cm.  in  breadth 
across  the  widest  part  of  the  head.  This  implement  is  furnished  with 
two  sharp-pointed  cutting  projections  in  front,  separated  by  a  groove; 
at  the  back  is  a  larger  triangular  sharp  projection.  The  whole  imple- 
ment is  well  balanced,  for  use  in  the  hand,  by  a  bulging  or  thickening 
of  its  body  between  these  three  projections;  (d)  an  implement  chipped 
from  yellowish  chert,  44  cm.  in  length,  serrated  on  each  side,  pointed 
at  one  end  and  rounded  at  the  other  (pi.  15,  d) ;  (e)  a  crescentic  imple- 
ment, chipped  from  yellowish  chert,  26  cm.  in  its  greatest  length, 
17£  cm.  across  the  widest  part  of  the  crescent.  From  the  convexity 
of  the  crescent  project  three  spines,  the  central  one  long  and  serrated, 
the  lateral  ones  merely  pointed  knobs.  This  object  is  more  crudely 
chipped  and  less  symmetrical  than  any  of  the  others  (pi.  15,  e). 

These  eccentrically  shaped  flint  and  chert  objects  seem  to  be 
limited  in  their  distribution  to  that  part  of  the  Maya  area  comprised 
in  southern  Yucatan,  eastern  Guatemala,  and  most  of  the  colony  of 
British  Honduras.  The  earliest  known  specimens  are  probably  those 
now  preserved  in  the  Salisbury  Museum,  England,  which  have  been 

thus  described: 

• 

Among  the  numerous  stone  weapons  and  implements  which  have  been  discovered, 
and  serve  to  illustrate  the  primitive  arts  of  the  New  World,  three  remarkable  relics 
from  the  Bay  of  Honduras,  in  South  America,  are  deserving  of  special  attention. 
They  were  found  about  the  year  1794,  with  other  examples,  in  a  cave  between  two 
and  three  miles  inland.  *  *  *  One  is  a  serrated  weapon,  pointed  at  both  ends, 
measuring  1GJ  inches  long.  [This  object  is  almost  exactly  similar  to  plate  15,  d,  except 
that  the  latter  is  pointed  at  one  end  only,  the  opposite  one  being  rounded.]  Another 
is  in  the  form  of  a  crescent,  with  projecting  points.  It  measures  17  inches  in  its 
greatest  length,  and  it  is  conjectured  may  have  served  as  a  weapon  of  parade,  like 
the  state  partisan  or  halbert  of  later  times.  The  third,  which  is  imperfect,  has  prob- 
ably resembled  the  previous  one  in  general  form.1 

The  second  of  these  implements  very  closely  resembles  that  shown 
in  plate  15,  e,  the  Salisbury  specimen  being  somewhat  larger,  more 
symmetrical,  and  more  carefully  chipped. 

About  3  feet  beneath  these  flint  objects,  embedded  in  the  sand 
which  filled  this  part  of  the  chamber,  were  discovered  20  cruciform 
obsidian  arrowheads  or  javelin  heads,  similar  to  that  shown  in  figure 
31,  a;  40  small  obsidian  cores;  2  obsidian  arrowheads,  of  the  shape 
shown  in  figure  32;  12  well-made  obsidian  knives,  grooved  on  each 

1  From  "Wilson,  Daniel,  Prehistoric  Man,  vol.  I,  pp.  214-15,  Cambridge  and  London,  1S62;  quoted  by 
Stevens,  Edward  T.,  in  Flint  Chips. 


BUREAU    OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN   64     PLATE  15 


STONE   OBJECTS    FROM    MOUND    NO.    10 


OaNn]         MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


89 


Fig. 


32.— Obsidian     arrowhead 
from  Mound  No.  10. 


side  of  the  base,  and  two  crescentic  objects  chipped  from  chert, 
somewhat  resembling  that  seen  in  plate  15,  e,  but  smaller,  without 
projecting  spines  at  the  convexity  of  the  crescent,  and  altogether 
more  crudely  and  carelessly  made. 

After  the  sand  and  lime  had  been  removed  from  this  chamber  to 
a  depth  of  nearly  30  feet  it  was  found  that  the  walls  became  continuous 
with  the  solid  foundation  of  masonry  upon 
which  the  mound  stood.  This  was  very  dim- 
cult  to  penetrate,  and  so  far  as  was  ascertained 
contained  notliing  further  of  interest.  The 
roof  of  the  chamber  was  next  attacked  from 
the  summit  of  the  mound.  To  a  depth  of 
nearly  2  feet  nothing  was  found  but  fine,  brown 
alluvial  soil,  full  of  the  roots  of  plants  and 
trees.  Beneath  this  the  real  structure  of  the 
mound  began,  for  not  so  much  as  a  solitary 
potsherd  or  chip  of  flint  was  found  in  the  earth 
on  the  summit  of  the  mound,  indicating  clearly  that  this  layer  had 
accumulated  since  its  construction.  Beneath  the  earth  layer,  to 
the  roof  of  the  chamber,  the  mound  was  composed  of  blocks  of  lime- 
stone of  varying  size,  loose  friable  mortar,  and  powdered  limestone. 
In  the  first  8  feet  nothing  except  a  few  potsherds  was  found.  At 
this  depth  two  shallow  circular  saucers,  each  7£  cm.  in  diameter, 
were  unearthed.  These  were  made  of  coarse 
red  unpainted  pottery,  and  close  to  them  lay  a 
finely  chipped  flint  object  (fig.  33,  a,  b).  This 
was  rounded  at  both  ends,  narrower  at  the 
handle  than  at  the  base,  and  markedly  con- 
vex on  its  under  surface  (fig.  33,  a,  b).  The 
front  part  of  the  under  surface  was  quite 
smooth  and  polished,  evidently  from  attrition, 
while  that  part  of  it  marked  A  A  bore  dis- 
tinct traces  of  blue  paint.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  this  implement  was  a  paint  grinder, 
as  a  specimen  almost  exactly  similar  was  found 
in  a  mound  nearCorozal,  bearing  traces  of  green 
paint  on  the  under  surface.  Fourteen  nicely 
polished  reddish  stone  beads,  spherical  in  shape,  together  with  four 
smaller  beads  of  a  light-green  color,  and  a  leaf -shaped  spearhead  of 
flint,  were  found  adjacent  1<>  the  paint  grinder.  Immediately  benoath 
these  was  found  an  object  made  of  what  seems  to  be  reddish-brown 
agate:  this  is  10  cm.  in  length,  oval  in  section,  1  cm.  in  its  greatest 
breadth,  tapering  ofl  to  a  blunt  point  at  each  end,  and  finely  polished 
all  over.  With  it  were  nearly  300  small  triangular  obsidian  objects  of 
the  shape  shown  in  figure  34.     These  vary  in  length  from  1  \  to  2\  cm. 


Fig. 


3.'i. —  Flint    object 
Mound  No.  10. 


from 


90  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

They  are  thick  at  the  upper  angle,  the  side  subtending  this  forming  a 
sharp  cutting  edge.  In  some  of  the  implements  this  edge  is  notched, 
as  if  from  use.  These  implements  were  probably  used  as  scrapers,  or 
small  chisels  or  gouges,  for  which  purposes  they  would  be  suitable, 
either  hafted  or  unhafted.  It  is  possible  that  they  may  have  been 
used  as  teeth  for  the  sword  known  to  the  Aztec  as  mextatl,  which 
was  also  in  use  among  the  Maya  at  the  time  of  the  conquest.  This 
weapon  was  constructed  by  setting  a  number  of  sharp  obsidian 
splinters  in  deep  lateral  grooves,  cut  in  a  long  piece  of  hard  wood, 
which  were  filled  with  liquid  resin  in  order  to  prevent  the  splinters 
from  shifting  from  their  positions. 

In  the  Stann  Creek  district  of  British  Honduras,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Sittec  River,  at  a  distance  of  approximately  15  miles  from  its 
mouth,  there  exists  an  extensive  clearing  in  the  bush  known  as 
"Kendal  Estate."  The  soil  here  is  remarkably  fertile  and  well  suited 
for  the  cultivation  of  every  kind  of  tropical  vegetable  product.  As 
has  been  pointed  out  before,  wherever  throughout  northern  Central 
America  one  finds  patches  of  exceptionally  rich  soil,  there,  on  clearing 
the  bush,  will  be  found  in  greater  or  less  numbers  the 
mounds  erected  by  the  former  inhabitants,  together 
with  the  indestructible  refuse  usually  associated  with 
former  village  sites,  as  fragments  of  pottery,  flint  and 
obsidian  chips,  broken  and  rejected  implements  and 
fig.  34.— obsidian  weapons,  shells  of  various  edible  shellfish,  clay  beads, 
object  from  Mound  net  sinkers,  malacates,  broken  rubbing  stones,  etc. 
The  converse  of  this  holds  true  to  some  extent,  as  one 
of  the  guides  relied  on  by  the  modern  degenerate  Maya  Indian  in  his 
annual  selection  of  land  for  a  milpa,  or  corn  plantation,  is  the  num- 
ber of  mounds  which  he  finds  upon  it.  Indeed  this  remarkable  index 
as  to  the  degree  of  fertility  of  the  soil  appears  to  be  almost  the  only 
useful  heritage  transmitted  to  him  by  his  courageous  and  compara- 
tively highly  civilized  ancestors. 

Mound  No.  11 

Mound  No.  11,  at  Kendal,  occupies  a  conspicuous  position  upon 
the  summit  of  a  small  natural  elevation,  situated  on  the  left  bank 
of  the  river  close  to  its  margin.  It  is  60  feet  long,  40  feet  broad,  and 
20  feet  high,  its  long  diameter  running  duo  east  and  west.  An  exca- 
vation was  made  into  the  north  slope  of  the  mound,  which  exposed  a 
three-walled  chamber,  8  feet  in  length  by  4  feet  8  inches  in  width. 
There  was  no  wall  on  the  south  side.  The  north  wall,  owing  to  the 
outer  slope  of  the  mound  trending  over  it,  was  only  1  foot  in  height; 
the  east  and  west  walls  were  each  4  feet  high.  All  three  walls  were 
about  18  inches  thick.     The  chamber  was  packed  with  water-worn 


BUREAU    OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN   64      PLATE  16 


MODEL    OF    JADEITE    BIVALVE    SHELL,      b.    LIGHT-GREEN    JADEITE    MASK. 
HEAD,   OR   CELT.      d.   TERRA-COTTA  CYLINDER 


c.  AX 


gann]         MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  91 

bowlders  and  earth,  among  which  nothing  Was  found  but  scattered 
patches  of  charcoal,  with  a  few  small  red  pots,  so  rotten  and  friable 
from  long  exposure  to  the  damp  that  it  was  found  impossible  to 
remove  them.  Had  there  ever  been  bones  in  the  chamber,  as  seems 
probable,  they  must  have  completely  disintegrated  Jong  before  from 
contact  with  the  damp  clay.  The  floor  was  composed  of  flags  of 
shale.  About  the  center  of  the  west  wall  a  recess  was  discovered 
2  feet  wide  by  1£  feet  high.  This  was  half  filled  with  earth,  in  which 
the  following  objects  were  found: 

(1)  The  model  of  half  a  bivalve  shell  in  light-green  jadeite,  very 
well  executed  and  polished  both  inside  and  out  (pi.  16,  a).  On  its 
outer  surface,  following  the  contour  of  the  outer  edge,  are  seven 
glyphs,  the  chief  component  of  each  of  which  is  a  grotesque  human 
face.1 

(2)  A  small  mask  of  light-green  jadeite,  well  polished  on  both 

surfaces,  measuring  approximately  7  cm.  in  both  diameters  (pi.  16,  b). 

Inscribed  on  the  forehead  in  shallow  lines  are  the  glyphs  shown 

in  figuro  35,  somewhat  enlarged  from  the  actual  size.     Around  the 

edgo  of  the  lower  half 

of  the  mask  are  seven 

-  [ O |         (CP 

minute  perforations, 

while  running  across  the 

back    of    tho    forehead 

from  ear  to  ear  is  a  larger 

°  Fig.  35.— Inscription  on  mask,  plate  16,  6. 

hole,  evidently  used  for 

suspension.  No  doubt  this  mask  was  used  as  a  breast  ornament, 
similar  to  those  portrayed  in  tho  codices  and  on  the  monoliths,  the 
small  holes  being  intended  for  the  suspension  of  tho  alligator-head 
beads  found  with  the  "mask,  which  again  may  have  been  connectod 
along  their  outward-pointing  snouts  by  the  cyfindrical  beads. 

(3)  An  ax  head,  or  celt,  of  light-green  stone,  finely  polished  through- 
out (pi.  16,  c),  21  cm.  in  length  by  6.5  cm.  in  breadth  at  the  cutting 
edge.  One  side  is  engraved  with  hieroglyphs  done  in  shallow  lines, 
much  less  carefully  and  neatly  than  those  on  the  shell.  The  lower 
two-thirds  of  the  engraved  side  have  evidently  been  subjected  to  con- 
siderable attrition,  as  the  surface  of  the  stone,  especially  along  the 
lower  third  of  tho  ax,  has  been  so  worn  away  as  to  render  tho  lines 
almost  undecipherable.  This  inscription,  somewhat  smaller  than  the 
original,  is  shown  in  figure  36.  With  these  engraved  objects  wore 
a  number  of  cylindrical  beads,  pierced  in  their  long  diameter,  made 
of  very  pretty  mottled  light  and  dark  green  jade,  well  polished. 
They  varied  from  1.2  to  1.6  cm.  in  length,  and  the  substance  of 
the  stone  from  which   they  were   made  was   distinctly  crystalline 

1  This  shell  has  already  been  reproduced  in  the  Sixteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  American 
Ethnology,  pi.  lxix. 


$2 


BUREAU   OF  AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  64 


on  fracture.  With  them  were  a  number  of  small  alligator  heads, 
made  of  similar  stone  and  about  the  same  size  as  the  beads,  pierced 
at  the  base  of  the  skull  for  suspension,  six  celts  of  green  and  chocolate- 
colored  stone,  all  finely  polished,  varying  from  9  to  18  cm.  in  length, 
and  a  circular  disk  of  iron  pyrites  8  cm.  in  diameter  by  5  mm.  in 
thickness.  This  object  was  milled  round  the  edges  like  a  coin  and 
perforated  in  the  center.  With  it  was  the  broken  half  of  a  similar 
ornaments  probably  both  of  these  had  been  used  as  ear  ornaments. 
Trenches  were  dug  through  this  mound  in  all  directions,  but  nothing 
further  was  found  therein. 

Mound  No.  12 

Mound  No.  12,  at  Kendal,  was  situated  close  to  the  last-described 
mound.  Its  flattened  summit  measured  28  feet  by  20  feet;  the 
average  height  was  approximately  1 5  feet.  The  mound  extended  east 
and  west,  and  on  its  eastern  slope  large  slate  slabs  were  seen  protruding 
from  the  surface.  On  excavating  round  these  they  were  found  to  be 
part  of  a  chamber  measuring  7  feet  by  3  feet;  the  south  wall  had 


Fig.  36. — Inscription  on  ax  head,  plate  16,  c. 

caved  in  and  the  roof  slabs  also  had  been  somewhat  displaced.  The 
chamber  was  filled  with  earth,  on  removing  which  the  following 
objects  were  found  upon  the  floor  slabs:  (1)  Three  nearly  spherical 
red  pots,  averaging  6  inches  in  diameter;  they  were  so  rotten  from 
the  effect  of  moisture  that  it  was  impossible  to  remove  them.  (2) 
Two  small,  rather  crudely  executed  human  faces  cut  in  mottled 
jadeite,  and  finely  polished,  with  which  were  three  green  jadeite 
beads.  (3)  A  small  quantity  of  greenish  powder.  (4)  Four  small 
chisels  of  polished  greenstone,  varying  from  2  to  4  cm.  in  length. 
(5)  One  chisel  made  of  very  soft  gray  stone,  which  had  been  covered 
externally  with  greenish  paint  somewhat  resembling  enamel,  and  very 
closely  simulating  the  genuine  greenstone  chisels  with  which  it  was 
placed,  except  that  it  was  much  lighter  in  weight.  Instances  of 
counterfeit  implements  and  ornaments  buried  with  the  dead  have 
been  found  more  than  once  throughout  this  area. 

Excavations  were  made  along  the  flattened  top  of  this  mound, 
and  about  16  feet  to  the  westward  of  the  first  one  a  second  grave  was 
discovered.     This  was  in  a  much  better  state  of  preservation  than 


gann]         MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  93 

the  first,  as  all  the  walls  and  the  roof  wore  in  situ.  It  was  composed 
throughout  of  large  flat  irregular  slabs  of  slate,  averaging  about  2 
inches  in  thickness.  It  measured  8  feet  by  2  feet  by  2  feet  in  height. 
The  chamber  was  filled  with  earth,  and  the  roof  was  not  more  than 
6  or  8  inches  below  the  surface  of  the  mound.  The  following  objects 
were  found  in  this  chamber,  all  resting  upon  the  slate  slabs  which 
formed  the  floor.  At  the  north  end  five  nearly  globular  red  earthen- 
ware pots,  of  rather  coarse  manufacture,  each  containing  a  stone 
celt,  were  found.  These  pots  had  been  packed  closely  together,  in 
earth,  and  over  them  a  large  slab  of  slate  had  been  placed  as  if 
to  protect  them;  this,  however,  it  failed  to  do,  as  the  pots  were  so 
saturated  with  moisture  that  it  was  found  possible  to  remove  only 
one  unbroken.  The  celts  averaged  6  inches  in  length;  all  were  well 
made  and  polished ;  four  were  of  greenstone,  one  of  a  bluish-gray  stone. 
Close  to  the  pots  were  found  a  small  jadeito  face  and  three  green- 
stone beads  or  pendants.  Nearer  the  center  of  the  floor  of  the  cham- 
ber were  found  two  small  cubical  objects  of  light  greenstone  1  cm. 
in  diameter,  very  closely  resembling  dice,  with  a  geometrical  device 
inscribed  in  rather  deep  lines  upon  two  of  their  opposed  surfaces; 
these  might  have  been  seals  or  stamps,  or  they  might  have  been 
used  in  playing  some  game.  With  them  were  a  small  solid  cylin- 
der, of  light  greenstone,  finely  polished  for  suspension,  12  small 
obsidian  knives,  seemingly  quite  new,  as  they  showed  no  signs  of 
notching  from  use,  and  six  convolvulus-shaped  ornaments  of  light 
greenstone,  finely  polished,  which  had  probably  been  used  as  ear 
plugs.  Close  to  the  last  lay  a  hollow  cylinder  of  extremely  hard 
terra  cotta  7  cm.  in  height,  inscribed  externally  with  a  geometrical 
device  in  low  relief  (pi.  16,  d).  This  object  was  undoubtedly  a 
cylindrical  seal  or  stamp  for  use  on  a  handle;  similar  specimens. are 
not  uncommon  in  the  soutli  of  British  Honduras  and  in  Guatemala, 
though  in  the  north  of  the  colony  and  in  Yucatan  they  are  of  much 
less  frequent  occurrence.  Small  patches  of  charcoal  and  of  green 
powder  were  found  in  several  places  scattered  over  tho  floor  of  this 
chamber.  Nothing  further  was  found  in  this  mound,  which  was 
composed  throughout  of  earth  and  water-worn  bowlders. 

Several  more  mounds  were  excavated  at  Kendal,  but  nothing  wa 
found  in  them.  They  were  all  composed  of  earth  and  large,  water- 
worn  bowlders,  the  former  greatly  predominating.  Close  to  many  of 
the  mounds  a  deep  excavation  in  the  surface  is  to  be  seen,  from  which 
the  material  to  construct  the  mound  was  evidently  taken.  These 
mounds  form  a  decided  contrast  to  those  in  tho  north  of  British 
Honduras  and  in  southern  Yucatan;  they  are  lower,  flatter,  more 
diffuse  and  irregular  in  outline,  with  the  line  of  demarcation  be- 
tween the  base  of  tho  mound  and  the  surrounding  soil  very  poorly 
defined.     The  northern  mounds  are  more  clearly  defined,  with  steeper 


94 


BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  64 


Fig.  37.— Flint  spearheads. 


sides,  smaller  summits,  and  base  lines  easily  distinguishable.  The 
reason  for  this  difference  is  to  be  sought  in  the  material  from  which 
the  mounds  were  constructed,  which  in  the  south  is  clay,  with  a 
small  admixture  of  river  bowlders,  both  of  which  are  easily  washed 
down  by  the  torrential  tropical  rains  of  the  district.     Year  by  year 

the  mound  becotnes  flatter  and  less  well 
defined,  till  at  length  most  of  these 
mounds  will  be  hardly  distinguishable 
from  the  surrounding  earth.  In  the 
north,  on  the  contrary,  the  mounds  are 
built  of  large  blocks  of  limestone,  with 
only  a  small  admixture  of  earth  and  lime- 
stone dust.  In  many  cases  the  blocks 
are  mortared  together,  and  in  nearly  all 
cases  layers  of  cement  are  alternated 
with  layers  of  stone.  The  whole  forms  a 
practically  solid  block  of  masonry,  capa- 
ble of  withstanding  for  all  time  the  less 
heavy  rainfall  of  this  part  of  British  Honduras  and  Yucatan.  About 
the  center  of  a  triangular  space,  bounded  at  each  angle  by  a  small 
mound,  situated  close  to  the  mound  last  described,  was  found  a 
piece  of  water-worn  rock  measuring  4  feet  10  inches  in  length,  which 
had  evidently  been  carried  up  from  the  river  bed  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
away.  Three  or  four  inches  of  it  appeared  above  the  soil.  Beneath 
the  rock  extended  a  layer  of  water-worn  river  stones  to  a  depth  of 
2  feet.  Among  these  were  found  numerous  fragments  of  pottery 
and  patches  of  charcoal.  On  the 
western  side  of  the  rock,  close  to 
its  edge,  and  buried  10  inches  be- 
neath the  surface,  were  found  three 
rather  well-chipped  flint  spearheads, 
the  largest  of  which  was  25  cm.  in 
length  (fig.  37,  a,  b,  c);  these  were 
placed  erect  in  the  earth,  points  up- 
ward, and  close  to  them  lay  the  small, 
eccentrically  shaped  object  seen  in 
figure  38,  b,  very  well  chipped  from 
dark-blue  flint,  measuring  1\  cm.  in 
length.  A  few  feet  to  the  north  of 
these  objects,  buried  at  about  the 
same  depth  and  quite  close  to  the  rock,  were  found  the  serrated  flint 
spearhead  shown  in  figure  38,  c,  27  cm.  in  length,  together  with  the 
eccentrically  shaped  object  seen  in  figure  38,  a,  28  cm.  in  length;  both 
of  these  were  placed  perpendicularly,  the  spearhead  point  upward. 

About  1J  miles  from  the  village  of  Benque  Viejo,  in  the  Western 
District,  is  the  only  considerable  aboriginal  building  in  British  Hon- 


Fig.  38.— Flint  objects. 


gann] 


MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


95 


duras,  still  in  a  fairly  good  state  of  preservation.  This  is  a  two-story 
temple  standing  upon  a  small  natural  elevation.  Each  story  contains 
12  small  rooms,  three  on  the  north  side  and  three  on  the  south  side, 
each  of  which  has  a  narrower  room  in  the  rear.  The  central  rooms 
are  27  feet  in  length,  the  side  rooms  17  feet  6  inches.  The  breadth 
of  the  smaller  rooms  is  4  feet  6  inches;  the  dividing  walls  are  3  feet 
thick.  All  the  rooms  in  the  lower  story  are  filled  in  with  large  blocks 
of  stone,  loosely  held  together  with  a  small  amount  of  mortar.  This 
seems  to  have  been  a  favorite  device  among  the  Maya  architects,  its 
object  probably  having  been  to  give  greater  strength  and  stability 
to  the  new  upper  story  erected  upon  a  building  of  older  date.  All  the 
rooms  are  roofed  with 
the  triangular  so-called 
"American  arch." 
The  height  of  the  rooms 
is  5  feet  10  inches  to 
the  top  of  the  wall,  and 
5  feet  10  inches  from 
the  top  of  the  wall  to 
the  apex  of  the  arch. 
All  the  rooms  had  been 
covered  with  stucco, 
and  upon  the  wall  of 
one  of  the  inner  cham- 
bers completely  cov- 
ered over  with  green 
mold  the  devices  shown 
in  figure  39  were  found, 


<^> 


Fig.  39.— Devices  scratched  on  stucco  in  aboriginal  building. 


inngure3ywereiounci,     /^^P       /7~) 

rudely  scratched  upon  C^^p  y^f^C^^^  C^>CS^ 
the  stucco.  In  both 
the  upper  and  the  lower 
part  of  the  drawing 
are  what  may  be  taken 
as  crude  representa- 
tions of  "Cimi,"  the  God  of  Death,  probably,  like  the  "grafiti"  of 
Rome  and  Pompeii,  scratched  on  the  wall  after  the  abandonment 
of  the  temple  by  its  original  builders.1  Whoever  executed  the 
drawing  must  have  had  some  knowledge,  however  crude,  of  Maya 
art  and  mythology,  as  the  Cimi  head  shown  in  the  lower  and  the 
conventional  feather  ornaments  in  the  upper  part  of  figure  39  are 
unmistakably  of  Maya  origin.  To  the  north  of  this  building  lies  a 
considerable  group  of  ruins.     Among  these   three   largo   pyramidal 


'  Similar  grant!  were  discovered  on  the  wall  (if  a  temple  at  Nakum,  in  Guatemala.    See  Tozzer,  Pre- 
liminary Study  of  the  I'rehLstoric  Ruins  of  Nakum.  Guatemala,  p.  160,  fig.  48a. 


96 


BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  64 


structures  are  conspicuous,  which  no  doubt  at  one  time  carried  small 
temples  upon  their  summits,  some  remains  of  which  are  still  to  be 
seen.  At  the  base  of 
these  pyramids  stand 
three  small  plain  stelse, 
quite  un ornamented. 
Upon  the  summit  of  one 
of  these  mounds  the 
eccentrically  shaped  im- 
plements shown  in  figures 
40  and  44  were  found.  Of 
these,  figure  40,  a,  l,  and 
figure  44,  m,  n,  o,  p,  are 
of  obsidian,  while  the  rest 
are  of  flint.  Sixty-four  of 
these  objects  were  found 
in  all,  at  depths  varying 
from  one  or  two  inches 
to  a  foot  beneath  the  sur- 
face; all  were  within  an 
area  of  about  2  square 
yards.  Some  of  the  ob- 
jects, especially  the  obsid- 
ians, were  chipped  out 
with  great  care  and  ac- 
curacy;  others  were 
merely  flint  flakes  with  a 
few  shallow  indentations  chipped  in  their  sides.  On  the  south  side 
of  the  largest  of  the  pyramids  stood  a  large  sculptured  stela,  the  upper 
part  of  which  had  been  broken  off  and  lay  close  to 
the  lower  part,  which  was  still  embedded  in  cement. 
The  sculptured  part  of  this  stela  measured  10  feet 
2  inches  in  length  by  4  feet   3  inches  in   breadth, 

and  about  16  inches  in 
thickness.  The  sculpture, 
which  is  in  low  relief,  rep- 
resents a  captive,  or  sacri- 
ficial victim,  prone  on  his 
face  and  knees,  while  above 
him  rises  the  figure  of  the 
priest  or  warrior,  with  elab- 
orately decorated  feather 
headdress,  holding  in  his 
extended  right  hand  a  small 
figure  of  the  manikin  god.  The  limestone  from  which  the  stela  is 
cut  has  been  very  much  defaced   by  the  weather,   and  the  finer 


Fig.  40. — Eccentrically  shaped  implements  found  at  summit  of 
mound. 


Fig.  41.— Flint  ob- 
ject found  at  base 
of  stela. 


Fig.  42.— Flint  object  found  at  base  of 
stela. 


gann] 


MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


97 


details  of  the  sculpture  can  not  now  be  deciphered.  The  back  and 
sides  are  plain  and  unsculptured.  Close  to  this  monoli'th  lay  a  small 
stone  altar,  2  feet  6  inches  by  2  feet  4  inches;  on  its  upper  surface  is 
represented  the  figure  of  a  skeleton  with  head  bent  over  the  extended 
right  arm,  while  the  left  is  held  in  to  the  side,  the  elbow  joint  at  right 
angles.  In  front  of  the  skeleton  is  a  double  row  of  hieroglyphs, 
each  row  containing  7  glyphs,  most  of  which  are  in  a  fairly  good 
state  of  preservation.  An  excavation  was  made  round  the  part  of 
the  monolith  still  standing.  It  was  found  to  be  surrounded  by  a 
solid  foundation  of  blocks  of  limestone,  held  together  by  cement, 


Flo.  43. — Flints  found  in  ruins  at  Naranjo. 

among  which  were  found,  near  the  base  of  the  stela,  and  actually  in 
contact  with  it,  the  two  eccentrically  shaped  flint  objects  shown  in 
figures  41  and  42.  In  excavating  a  stela  at  the  ruins  of  Naranjo, 
Republic  of  Guatemala,  Teobert  Maler  found  the  flint  illustrated  in 
figure  43,  a,  and  in  clearing  another  stela  at  the  same  ruins  24  similar 
flints  were  found  (fig.  43,  b-s).     Of  these  he  says: 

During  the  excavation  of  this  "starfish  stela"  quite  a  collection  of  very  interesting 
flint  ornaments,  24  in  number,  came  to  light.  Among  them  were  crescents,  such 
as  are  seen  as  ear  ornaments  on  certain  stela?  of  Yaxha  and  Tikal,  several  curved  or 
even  S -shaped  pieces,  which,  perhaps,  were  used  as  nose  ornaments,  a  serrated  lance 
and  a  serrated  plate,  a  piece  in  the  shape  of  a  cross,  and  one  composed  of  three  leaves, 
a  double  lance,  single  lances,  etc. 

70806°— IS— Bull.  04 7 


98 


BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.  64 


We  may  assume  that  near  many  stelae,  as  well  as  in  the  interior  or  on  the  exterior 
of  temples,  in  addition  to  incense  burners  and  sacrificial  bowls,  there  were  placed 
certain  death's-head  masks  or  other  figures  of  perishable  material  tricked  out  with 
ornaments,  feathers,  and  locks  of  hair,  which  have  long  since  mouldered  away,  leav- 
ing behind  only  those  of  indestructible  stone.  For  elsewhere,  in  the  vicinity  of 
stelae,  objects  of  flint  and  obsidian  are  found  in  addition  to  pottery  sherds.1 

It  will  be  seen  that  figure  43,  a,  from  Naranjo  is  practically 
identical  with  figure  44,-  Ti,  from  Benque  Viejo,  as  is  figure  43,  c, 
from  Naranjo  with  figure  40,  d,  from  Benque  Viejo,  and  figure 
43,  fc,  from  Naranjo  with  figure  44,  Tc,  from   Benque  Viejo,  while 


i  j  fc  I        m        TL        O        p 

Fig.  44. — Objects  from  Benque  Viejo. 

the  objects  shown  in  figure  43,  h,  I,  m,  respectively,  from  Naranjo 
very  closely  resemble  those  seen  in  figure  44,  o,  a,  Z,  from  Benque 
Viejo. 

Close  to  Succots,  which  is  an  extension  of  the  village  of  Benque 
Viejo,  a  small  mound  was  opened  by  Dr.  Davis  some  years  ago, 
within  which  were  found  the  objects  illustrated  in  figure  45.  These 
are  all  of  obsidian  and  of  very  eccentric  and  irregular  shapes.  The 
object  shown  in  figure  45,  c,  closely  resembles  that  shown  in  figure 
43,  c,  from  Naranjo,  and  that  in  figure  40,  d,  from  Benque  Viejo, 

1  Maler,  Explorations  in  the  Department  of  Peten,  Guatemala,  pp.  100-101. 


GANN] 


MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


99 


and  still  more  closely  figure  44,  p,  from  Benque  Viejo,  both  being 
made  of  obsidian. 

Mound  No.  13 

Close  to  Corozal,  in  the  northern  district  of  British  Honduras,  the 
sea  m  its  gradual  encroachment  along  the  coast  had  partially  washed 
away  a  small  mound.  On  tho  boach,  by  the  side  of  the  mound, 
were  found  a  few  fragments  of  human  long  bones,  a  small  triangular 
arrowhead  or  javelin  head  of  black  flint,  a  number  of  potsherds  of 
coarse,  thick,  reddish  pottery,  and  two  small  obsidian  knives.  These 
had  evidently  been  washed  out  of  the  mound  by  the  sea.  The 
remaining  part  of  the  mound  was  dug  down.  It  was  found  to  be 
18  feet  in  diameter,  less  than  4  feet  high  at  its  highest  point,  and 
built  throughout  of  water-worn  stones,  sand,  and  earth.  Near  the 
center  and  on  the  ground  level  were  found  human  vertebrae  and 
parts  of  a  skull,  probably  belonging  with  the  leg  bones  found  on  the 


b  c  d  e 

Fig.  45. — Obsidian  objects  found  in  a  mound  near  Benque  Viejo. 

beach.  Close  to  these  were  found  a  small  three-legged  earthenware 
bead  vase,  containing  two  pottery  and  one  small  polished  greenstone 
bead,  together  with  one  eccentrically  shaped  flint  object.  This  is 
probably  meant  to  represent  a  "quash,"  or  picote,  with  bushy  tail 
coiled  over  his  back.  It  is  rather  neatly  chipped  from  dark-yellow 
flint.  It  measures  nearly  3  inches  from  the  curve  of  the  tail  to  the 
tip  of  the  forepaw. 

Mound  No.  14 

Tho  noxt  mound  in  which  an  eccentrically  shaped  flint  was  dis- 
covered is  a  very  largo  one  situated  far  away  from  any  settlement, 
at  tho  headwaters  of  tho  Rio  Hondo,  in  northern  British  Honduras. 
Tho  stono  implements  found  in  it  lay  near  the  summit,  about  a 
couple  of  feet  beneath  the  surface.  They  were  discovered  accident- 
ally by  an  Indian  (from  whom  they  were  purchased)  while  digging 
out  a  luilib,  or  gibnut,  from  its  hole,  and  consistod  of:  (a)  A  spindle- 
shaped  stono  brazo  12  inches  long  by  93  inches  in  circumference, 
finely  polished  from  grinding  corn  on  a  tnetate.  (1>)  A  chipped  flint 
brazo,  "\  inches  long  by  10£  inches  in  circumference,  polished  on  one 


100  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

side  only.  Flint  brazos  are  exceedingly  rare,  as  the  rough  surface 
necessary  for  corn  grinding  must  have  been  difficult  to  produce  on 
so  refractory  a  material,  (c)  Eight  stone  ax  heads,  varying  from  3£ 
to  8£  inches  in  length,  (d)  A  dark  greenstone  ax  head,  9£  inches  in 
length,  with  two  shallow  notches,  one  on  each  side  of  a  shoulder  situ- 
ated 3  inches  from  the  base,  probably  intended  to  afford  greater 
facility  in  hafting  the  implement,  (e)  Two  well-chipped  flint  spear- 
heads, one  10£,  the  other  7£,  inches 
in  length,  (f)  An  oblong  block  of 
flint  6^  inches  in  length  and  6£ 
inches  in  circumference.  This  had 
fig.  -lo.-Fiint  object  from  Seven  Hiiis.  probably  been  used  as  a  hammer- 
stone,  since  it  exhibits  well-defined  percussion  marks  at  each  extrem- 
ity, (g)  A  rather  roughly  chipped  stellate  disk  of  flint,  10  inches  in 
diameter,  with  13  sharp-pointed  triangular  rays  or  spines,  each  about 
2  inches  in  length,  at  equal  intervals  around  its  periphery.  Near  the 
center  of  this  object  is  a  natural  hole  3|  inches  in  diameter. 

The  upper  part  of  this  mound  consisted  of  earth  and  blocks  of  lime- 
stone; the  lower  part  was  not  excavated.  The  implements  were 
found  lying  close  together  in  a  cache,  loose  in  the  soil.  Numerous 
rough  potsherds  were  found,  but  there  was  no  trace  of  human  inter- 
ment discovered.. 

In  the  southern  part  of  British  Honduras,  not  far  from  Punta 
Gorda,  is  a  group  of  small  natural  elevations,  known  as  Seven  Hills. 
Upon  the  summit  of  the  highest  of  these,  some  years  ago,  the  object 
illustrated  in  figure  46  was  found.  This  somewhat  resembles  a  horse- 
shoe with  two  long  bars,  each  tapering  off  to  a  point,  projecting 
from  either  side.  It  is  Very  neatly  chipped 
from  grayish  flint.  Its  extreme  length  is  16 
inches.  This  implement  was  found  just  be- 
neath the  surface,  covered  only  by  a  few 
inches  of  soil.  At  a  later  date  a  number  of 
trenches  were  dug  on  the  summit  of  this 
mound,  but  nothing  except  potsherds  of 
various  kinds  with  flint  and  obsidian  chips 

CaniO  tO  licht.  ^IG-     4~- — Horseshoe-shaped     flint 

-r       n  a  -r    •  c    ,  i        r>  ,        n  object  found  near  San  Antonio. 

In  figure  47  is  seen  one  ol  the  finest  of 
these  eccentrically  shaped  flints  ever  found  in  this  part  of  the 
Maya  area.  It  is  horseshoe-shaped,  chipped  to  a  sharp  edge  all 
round,  and  has  six  sharp  spines  projecting  from  the  outer  periph- 
ery (one  of  which  has  been  broken  off,  as  shown  in  the  figure), 
with  shallow  indentations  between  them.  The  implement,  which 
is  35  cm.  in  its  greatest  diameter,  is  made  of  nearly  black  flint, 
covered  with  a  beautiful  creamy  white  porcelain-like  patina.     It 


Gann]         MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


101 


was  found  by  an  Indian  in  the  neighborhood  of  San  Antonio,  on  the 
Rio  Hondo,  which  here  forms  the  boundary  lino  between  Mexico  and 
British  Honduras.  He  was  idly  scratching  on  the  top  of  a  small 
mound,  buried  in  the  bush,  with  his  machete,  when  a  few  inches 
below  tho  surface  he  came  upon  this  very  remarkable  flint.  Unfor- 
tunately, he  took  no  pains  to  locate  the  mound,  and  as  the  bush 
in  this  neighborhood  is  literally  covered  with  mounds  in  all  directions, 
he  has  never  been  able  to  find  this  particular  one  again. 

The  implement  shown  in  figure  48  was  dredged  up  from  the  River 
Thames,  near  London,  at  a  spot  where  foreign-going  ships  wire  in  the 
habit  of  dumping  their  ballast.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  it 
came  originally  from  British  Honduras,  as  flint  implements  of  such 
large  size  and  of  this  peculiar  type  are  not  found  outside  the  Maya 
area.  This  object,  as  may  be  seen,  is  a  crude  representation  of  tho 
human  form;  it  is  9£  inches  in  length  and  is  neatly  chipped.  A 
closely  similar  anthropomorphic  specimen  is  pre- 
served in  the  Northesk  collection,  a  cast  of 
which  may  be  seen  in  the  British  Museum. 

It  is  extremely  difficult  to  form  any  satisfac- 
tory theory  as  to  the  use  of  these  eccentrically 
shaped  flints  which  will  cover  all  the  instances 
in  which  they  have  been  found.  Teobert  Maler, 
judging  by  the  small  specimens,  closely  packed, 
which  he  found  at  Naranjo,  considers  that  they 
may  have  been  used  as  ornaments  upon  death's- 
head  masks,  placed  near  stelae  and  temples, 
the  more  perishable  parts  of  which  have  disap- 
peared. This  theory  could  hardly  apply  to  the 
immense  specimens  from  the  Douglas,  Orange 
Walk,  and  Seven  Hills  mounds,  some  of  which 
are,  moreover,  obviously  intended  as  weapons, 
and  not  as  ornaments.  Stevens,  the  author  of  "Flint  Chips,"  with 
only  the  three  large  specimens  found  in  a  cave  inland  from  tho 
Bay  of  Honduras  to  judge  from,  considers  that  they  may  have 
served  as  "weapons  of  parade,  like  the  state  partisan  or  halbert  of 
later  times;"  it  is  perfectly  obvious,  however,  that  the  zoomorphic 
forms  from  Corozal  and  Douglas,  and  the  small  specimens  from 
Benque  Viejo,  Naranjo,  Kendal,  and  Santa  Rita,  could  not  have  been 
intended  for  this  purpose.  Finding  small,  beautifully  chipped  cres- 
cents, crosses,  and  rings  of  obsidian  and  varicolored  flints,  as  have  been 
discovered  at  Benque  Viejo  and  Succots,  ono  would  be  inclined  to 
think  that  they  were  intended  as  earrings,  gorgets,  and  breast 
ornaments,  especially  as  one  sees  such  forms  frequently  recurring 
in  the  ornaments  worn  by  figures  on  the  stelae  in  the  neighborhood. 
Finding  the  huge  flints  pictured  in  plate  15,  b,  d,  especially  when 


Fiu.    48.— Figure   from    River 
Thames,  near  London. 


102 


BUREAU    OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY 


[bdll.  64 


associated,  as  they  were,  with  the  large  flint  spearheads  illustrated 
in  plate  15,  c,  /,  the  conclusion  that  they  were  intended  as  weapons 
would  be  almost  irresistible. 

The  number  of  these  objects  found  at  each  of  the  11  sites  which 
have  been  described  varies  from  1  to  64.  On  5  of  the  11  occa- 
sions they  were  undoubtedly  associated  with  human  interments; 
in  4  of  the  remaining  6  they  were  found  lying,  superficially  placed, 
on  the  summits  of  mounds,  which  for  various  reasons  were  not 
thoroughly  excavated,  and  may  or  may  not  have  been  sepulchral  in 
function;  in  the  two  remaining  finds  the  flints  were  placed  closely 

adjacent  to  sculptured  stelae,  and 
these  again  may  have  been  used  to 
mark  the  grave  of  some  priest  or 
cacique,  though  they  more  fre- 
quently marked  the  lapse  of  cer- 
tain time  periods.  The  common- 
est form  assumed  by  these  objects 
is  the  crescent  or  some  variant  of 
it.  Of  the  11  sites  excavated, 
this  form  was  found  in  no  fewer 
than  8.  The  crescent  is  in  some 
cases  quite  plain,  in  some  indented 
or  spiked  along  the  convexity,  and 
is  in  one  instance  furnished  with 
long  spines  on  tach  side. 

In  every  instance  (except  that  of 
the  chambered  mound  at  Douglas) 
where  these  implements  were  found 
in  mounds  they  were  placed  quite 
superficially  at  the  summit  of  the 
mound;  indeed  at  Benque  Viejo, 
Seven  Hills,  and  Santa  Rita  it  seems 
probable  that  they  had  not  been 
buried  originally  at  all,  but  merely 
placed  upon  the  summit  of  the  mound  and  in  course  of  time  became 
covered  with  a  layer  of  humus  from  decaying  vegetation  in  the 
vicinity.  » 

Similar  flint  objects  have  been  found  in  other  parts  of  the  world, 
notably  at  Brionio  in  Italy  and  in  Stuart,  Smith,  and  Humphrey 
Counties,  Tennessee.  In  figure  49,  b-n,  are  shown  somewhat 
rough  outline  sketches  of  the  Tennessee  objects,  and  in  figure  50, 
a-p,  are  represented  a  selection  of  the  most  important  objects 
found  at  Brionio,  now  in  the  collection  of  the  late  Professor  Giglioli 
at  Florence.  The  Tennessee  objects  are  to  be  seen  at  Washington. 
The  latter  are  small  when  compared  with  the  largest  of  the  Maya 


Fig.  49. — Flint  objects  from  Tennessee. 


GANNl 


MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


103 


specimens,  but  are  neatly  chipped,  whereas  the  Brionio  objects  are 
very  crudely  blocked  out,  mostly  from  black  flint. 

It  will  be  observed  that  figure  49,  c,  d,  g,  from  Tennessee,  shows 
specimens  almost  identical  with  figure  50,  p,  from  Brionio,  and 
with  the  turtle,  pictured  in  plate  15,  g,  from  the  Douglas  chambered 
mound;  again  the  spiked  crescents,  figure  50,  h,  c,  n,  from  Brionio, 
closely  resemble  the  very  much  larger  spiked  crescent  illustrated  in 
plate  15,  e,  from  the  Douglas  chambered  mound,  and  still  more  closely 
the  spiked  crescent  figured  in  "  Flint  Chips  "  (from  Wilson,  Prehistoric 
Man,  op.  cit.,  p.  214).  Though  these  objects  are  not  found  in  Cen- 
tral America  outside  the  Maya  area,  the  Aztec  were  sufficiently  ex- 
pert in  the  art  of  flint  and  obsidian  chipping  to  have  produced  them 
had  they  wished.  In  figure  49,  a,  is  seen  the  outline  of  a  type 
of  labretworn  by  the  Aztecs,  chipped 
out  of  both  flint  and  obsidian,  which 
compares  favorably  in  workmanship 
with  any  of  the  objects  from  the 
Maya  area. 

In  reviewing  the  evidence  it  would 
appear  that  these  eccentrically  shaped 
objects  were  not  employed  either  as 
implements  or  as  weapons,  most  of 
them  being  utterly  unsuited  in  both 
size  and  shape  for  such  purposes; 
moreover,  none  of  them  show  any 
signs  of  wear  or  use.  Neither  were 
they  used  as  ornaments,  as  many  of 
them  are  too  largo  and  heavy,  while 
the  more  roughly  chipped  specimens 
would  be  quite  unadapted  for  such 
a  purpose.  Judging  by  the  fact  that 
5  at  least  of  the  11  separate  finds 
wore  associated  with  human  burials,  it  seems  probable  that  these 
objects  were  purely  ceremonial  in  use ;  that  they  were  most  frequently, 
if  not  invariably,  buried  with  the  dead,  either  on  top  of  the  sepul- 
chral mound,  in  close  association  with  the  corpse,  or  by  the  side  of  a 
memorial  stela;  and  that  they  were  manufactured  and  used  solely  for 
this  purpose 

Mound  No.  15 

Mound  No.  15  was  situated  on  the  south  bank  of  tho  Rio  Hondo, 
about  5  miles  from  its  mouth,  near  tho  village  of  Santa  Helena. 
This  \\ii^  h  conical  mound  25  feet  in  height  and  120  feet  in  circum- 
ference ai  the  base.  Excavation  was  begun  at  the  summit  of  the 
mound,  which  was  somewhat  flattened.     For  the  first  foot  the  coil 


Fig.  50. — Flint  objects  from  Italy. 


104 


BUREAU   OP   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY 


fBULL.  64 


Fig.     51.— Small     cup-shaped 
vase  from  Mound  No.  15. 


consisted  of  light-brown  earth,  which  contained  nothing  of  interest. 
For  the  next  3£  feet  there  were  large  blocks  of  limestone,  the  inter- 
stices between  which  were  filled  with  limestone  dust  and  debris.  In 
these  were  found  large  quantities  of  potsherds,  some  well  painted  and 
polished,  together  with  part  of  the  inferior  maxilla  of  a  medium- 
sized  carnivore,  probably  a  puma.  At  a  depth  of  3^  feet  a  number  of 
stone  flags,  each  nearly  5  feet  in  length  and  from 
4  to  6  inches  in  thickness,  were  exposed;  on  re- 
moving these  a  small  chamber  appeared,  of 
which  the  flags  formed  the  roof.  The  walls  of 
the  chamber,  or  cist,  were  built  of  squared  stones 
mortared  together;  it  was  6  feet  long,  6  feet 
high,  and  4  feet  broad ;  the  floor  was  of  light- 
brown,  very  fine  river  sand.  On  carefully  re- 
moving the  sand  the  following  objects  were 
brought  to  light  at  depths  varying  from  3  feet 
below  the  surface  of  the  sand  to  the  bottom  of  the  chamber:  (a)  A  small 
round,  cup-shaped  vase,  shown  in  figure  51,  painted  bright  yellow 
and  finely  polished.  It  is  10  cm.  high  by  8£  cm.  in  its  greatest 
diameter.  On.-  its  outer 
surface  are  two  grotesque 
monkey-like  figures,  the 
outline  of  one  of  which  is 
shown  in  figure  52,  a.  (b)  A 
small  thin  bowl  of  the  shape 
shown  in  figure  52,  e,  painted 
yellow  throughout,  well  pol- 
ished, and  ornamented  ex- 
teriorly with  geometrical  de- 
vices in  red  and  black,  (c) 
A  somewhat  larger  bowl 
than  the  next  preceding,  of 
the  shape  seen  in  figure  52,/. 
The  geometrical  ornamen- 
tation on  the  outer  surface 
is  executed  in  low  relief, 
and  was  afterwards  painted 
over,  (d)  A  large  circular 
plaque  painted  yellow  throughout,  42  cm.  in  diameter.  This  plaque 
had  been  polished  but  shows  considerable  signs  of  hard  usage  before 
burial,  (e)  A  plaque-like  vessel,  9  cm.  in  height,  with  the  design  repre- 
sented in  figure  52,  d,  of  a  humanf  ace  separated  from  a  dragon's  head  by 
the  Maya  numeral  7,  repeated  around  the  outer  surface  of  its  rim.  (f ) 
A  shallow  plaque,  36  cm.  in  diameter,  painted  yellow  throughout,  and 


S 


Fig.  52.— Objects  from  Mound  No.  15. 


gann]         MAVA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  105 

polished ;  on  the  inner  surf  aoe  of  the  rim  are  repeated  twice,  outlined 
in  black  lines,  the  bird  and  the  curious  mythological  animal  seen  in 
figure  52,  b,  c.  (g)  A  basin-shaped  vessel;  painted  a  deep  reddish- 
brown  and  finely  polished  throughout,  with  a  very  attractive  and 
intricate  device  of  interlacing  diamond-shaped  figures  around 
the  inside  of  the  rim.  (h)  A  vessel  closely  similar  to  the  pre- 
ceding, but  smaller  and  not  so  well  polished.  It  was  broken 
into  a  number  of  pieces  when  found,  (i)  A  small  round  pot, 
with  flaring  rim,  of  common  red  ware,  showing  no  attempt  at 
decoration,  (j)  Scattered  throughout  the  sand,  in  the  midst  of 
these  pots,  were  found  35  very  small,  flat,  circular  disks  or  beads, 
averaging  about  one-twelfth  inch  in  thickness.  Some  were  of 
greenstone,  others  of  a  reddish-yellow  stone  mottled  with  white. 
All  were  well  polished. 

On  removing  the  sand  to  a  depth  of  12  feet  the  bottom  of  the 
chamber  was  reached.  The  floor,  which  was  composed  of  hard 
mortar,  measured  4  by  3  feet,  as  the  chamber  was  somewhat  funnel- 
shaped,  narrowing  as  it  descended.  On  the  bottom  of  the  chamber 
were  found  a  number  of  small  oyster  and  cockle  shells,  with  frag- 
ments of  human  bones.  Among  these  was  an  inferior  maxilla  in 
fairly  good  state  of  preservation ;  from .  the  facts  that  the  tooth 
sockets  had  disappeared,  that  there  was  considerable  atrophy  along 
the  alveolar  processes  and  widening  of  the  angle  between  the  hori- 
zontal and  vertical  sections  of  the  bone,  it  had  probably  belonged 
to  a  person  of  advanced  age. 

Mound  No.  16 

Mound  No.  16  was  situated  about  2  miles  due  north  of  the  last- 
described  mound,  close  to  the  north  bank  of  the  Rio  Hondo,  within 
the  territory  of  Quintana  Roo.  It  was  discovered  by  an  Indian, 
who  had  cut  a  piece  of  virgin  bush  with  the  object  of  making  a 
milpa.  The  mound  was  35  feet  in  height  by  250  feet  in  circumfer- 
ence at  the  base;  in  shape  it  resembled  a  truncated  cone,  the  flat- 
tened summit  of  which  measured  30  feet  in  one  direction  by  6  feet 
in  the  other.  The  mound  was  composed  throughout  of  rough 
blocks  of  limestone,  the  interstices  of  which  were  filled  in  with  lime- 
stone dust  and  an  unusually  large  quantity  of  light-brown  earth. 
Excavation  was  commenced  at  the  top  of  the  mound;  for  the  first 
6  feet  nothing  oxcept  a  few  potsherds  was  found.  Scattered  through 
the  next  2  feet  of  the  mound  the  following  objects  were  brought 
to  light;  those  were  mingled  indiscriminately  with  the  limestone 
blocks  of  which  the  mound  was  built,  quite  unprotected  by  cyst 
or  chamber:  (a)  A  basin-shaped  vessel  20  cm.  in  diameter,  10  cm. 
in  height  (pi.  17),  covered  by  a  round  conical  lid  with  a  semicircular 
handle.     Both  basin  and  cover  are  painted  black  and  polished,  inside 


106 


BUREAU   OP  AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY 


tBULL.  64 


£>=^ 


Fig.  53. — Conventionalized 
representation  of  bird  on 
vessel  shown  in  plate  17. 


and  out.  iTpon  tho  outer  surface  of  the  vase  and  the  upper  surface  of 
the  lid  are  incised  in  low  relief  a  series  of  pictographs,  identical  upon 
both.  From  the  nature  of  tho  design  and  the  fact  that  the  vase  con- 
tained a  number  of  fragments  of  human  bones,  it  seems  probable  that 
it  was  intended  for  a  cinerary  urn.  The  design  is  of  considerable  inter- 
est and  worthy  of  detailed  consideration.  The  most  prominent  object 
upon  both  the  lid  and  the  vase  itself  is  a  naked  human  figure  in  a  re- 
cumbent position,  with  the  arms  flexed  over  the 
chest  and  abdomen  and  the  knees  and  thighs 
semiflexed.  The  ornaments  worn  consist  of  an 
elaborate  feather-decorated  headdress,  a  labret, 
or  nose  ornament  (it  is  somewhat  difficult  to 
determine  which),  and  large  bead  anklets  and 
wristlets.  Below  the  head,  on  the  body  of  the 
vase,  is  the  conventionalized  representation  of  a 
bird  (fig.  53)  with  extended  drooping  wings,  and 
a  rectangular  object  occupying  the  position  of  the  beak.  On  the  lid, 
probably  from  lack  of  room,  this  bird  is  represented  only  by  the 
rectangular  object,  beneath  which  is  seen  the  conventionalized  ser- 
pent's head,  represented  only  by  the  upper  jaw,  from  which  project 
the  head  and  hand  of  a  human  being,  whom  it  is  in  the  act  of  swal- 
lowing. This  monster,  with  a  human  head  projecting  from  its  mouth, 
is  frequently  represented  in  mounds  in  this  area,  usually  in  the  form 
of  a  clay  figurine. 

The  next  figure  is  probably  intended  to  represent  Quctzalcoatl,  the 
Cuculcan  of  the  Maya,  and  God  B  of  the  Codices.  It  is  the  shrunken 
bearded  face  of  an  old  man,  with  a  single  tooth  in  the  lower  jaw,  very 
prominent  nose,  and  a  bird's  head  (probably  that  of  the  owl)  in  the 
headdress.  These  are  all  well-recognized  characteristics  of  this  god. 
At  the  back  part  of  the  headdress  of  the  god,  and  connected  with  it,  is 
a  human  face.  Immediately  above  the 
head  of  Cuculcan  is  depicted  a  fish, 
with  a  flower-like  object  in  front  of  its 
mouth  (fig.  54),  which  is  probably  con- 
nected with  this  god,  who  is  frequently 
associated  with  objects  connoting 
water,  vegetation,  and  fertility,  as  fish, 
flowers,  water  plants,  leaves,  and  shells. 

The  next  figure  probably  represents  Schellhas's  God  K  of  the 
Codices.  This  god  possesses  an  elaborate  foliated  nose,  and  is  usually 
closely  associated  with  God  B,  as  he  is  in  the  present  instance;  indeed 
Brinton  and  Fewkes  regard  him  as  being  merely  a  special  manifesta- 
tion of  tho  latter  god,  while  Spinden  is  of  the  opinion  that  his  face  is 
derived  from  that  of  the  serpent  so  constantly  associated  with  God 
B.1     The  lower  jaw  of  the  god  seems  to  consist  of  a  dry  bone.     Imme- 


Fig.  54. — Decoration  on  vessel  shown  in 
plate  17. 


1  See  Spinden,  Maya  Art,  p.  64. 


BUREAU    OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN   64      PLATE  18 


POTTERY    FROM    MOUND    NO.   16 


oann] 


MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


107 


diately  behind  God  K  is  repeated  the  design  of  the  serpent  swallowing 
a  human  head,  above  which  is  a  striated  bar,  whose  sole  purpose 
seemingly  is  to  decorate  a  vacant  space.  Above  this  again  is  a  bar 
with  feathers  or  leaves  projecting  from  it,  which  may  possibly  be 
connected  with  the  headdress  of  God  B,  and  at  the  top  is  repeated  the 
figure  of  the  fish,  with  the  circular  object  in  front  of  its  mouth.    Next 


Fig.  55.— Perforated  beads  found  in  Mound  No.  16. 

to  these  is  again  seen  the  head  of  the  god  Cuculcan,  after  which  the 
whole  series  recommences  with  the  prone  naked  human  figure,  (b)  A 
vessel  exactly  similar  in  size,  color,  and  shape  to  the  one  last  described 
(pi.  18,  a).  The  outer  surface  is  decorated  by  four  curious  monkey- 
like creatures,  sculptured  in  low  relief,  separated  from  each  other  by 
ovate  spaces  inclosed  in  double  parallel  lines  and  filled  with  cross- 
hatching.  Above  and  below  is  a  border  of  frets,  also 
executed  in  low  relief.  The  faces  of  these  monkeys 
are  represented  by  a  simple  oval,  no  attempt  having 
been  made  to  depict  any  of  the  features.  The  hands 
are  furnished  with  huge  clawlike  fingers,  and  the  tails, 
which  are  of  great  length,  are  curled  over  the  back. 
The  cover  of  this  vessel  (pi.  18,  a)  is  circular,  some- 
what funnel-shaped,  23  cm.  in  diameter.  Upon  its 
outer  surface  is  executed,  in  low  relief,  a  monkey  almost 
exactly  similar  to  those  which  appear  on  the  outer  sur- 
face of  the  vase,  except  that  it  is  somewhat  larger 
and  is  seen  in  front  view,  not  in  profile.  The  face  of  the  monkey 
is  carefully  molded  in  high  relief  to  form  the  handle  of  the  lid, 
while  between  his  hands  he  grasps  an  ovate  object  identical  with 
those  on  the  vase.  (e)  The  lid  of  a  vessel  corresponding  exactly 
to  the  lid  of  the  vessel  first  described.  The  pot  to  which  it 
belonged  could  not  be  found  (pi.  18,  6).  (d)  A  pair  of  cylindrical 
vases,  each  standing  upon   three  short,  hollow,  oval  legs.      Both  are 


Fig.  5*>.  —  Jadeite 
beads  found  in 
Mound  No.  16. 


108 


BUREAU    0E   AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


tBULL.  64 


made  of  extremely  thin,  brittle  pottery  painted  a  dirty  yellow  and 
polished  throughout,  with  no  ornament  except  a  broad  red  stripe, 
which  passes  obliquely  around  the  whole  of  the  outer  surface  of  each 
vase,  (e)  Two  shallow  circular  plaques,  painted  reddish-brown,  and 
polished  throughout,  with  a  geometrical  device  in  thin  black  lines 
around  the  inner  surface  of  the  rim  of  each,  (f )  A  quantity  of  bones, 
probably  those  of  a  Jialib  or  gibnut,  and  of  a  wild  turkey.  These 
were  found  under  a  large  block  of  rough  limestone,     (g)  A  number  of 


Fig.  57. — a.  Circular  shell  disks  from  Mound  No.  16.    6.  Greenstone  ear  plugs  from  Mound  No.  17. 

univalve  shells,  each  about  1  inch  in  length,  perforated  at  the  apex 
in  two  places,  as  if  for  suspension  in  the  form  of  a  necklace  or  orna- 
mental border.1  With  these  shells  was  found  half  of  a  large  cockle- 
like bivalve,  painted  red  throughout,  and  perforated,  possibly  for  use 
as  a  gorget,  (h)  Thirteen  large,  round,  perforated  beads  (fig.  55). 
Some  of  these  are  reddish  in  color,  and  show  traces  of  polishing.  With 
these  were  the  three  jadeite  beads  pictured  in  figure  56;  two  of  these 

1  See  Memoirs  of  the  Pcabody  Museum,  vol.  n,  No.  1,  Researches  in  the  Valley  of  the  Usumatsintla, 
where  on  several  illustrations  rows  of  similar  shells  are  seen  decorating  the  edges  of  the  garments  of  the 
persons  represented. 


gann]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  109 

are  cylindrical,  with  a  knob  at  one  end,  while  the  third  is  nearly 
spherical;  all  are  finely  polished;  they  are  made  of  light  and  dark- 
green  mottled  jadeite.  (i)  A  single  small  oyster  shell,  with  a  great 
number  of  cockle  shells,  (j)  Two  circular  disks  of  shell,  represented 
in  figure  57,  a,  exhibiting  the  front  and  back  view.  The  central 
part  is  of  a  deep  reddish  color,  and  is  well  polished.  Each  disk  is  5  cm. 
in  diameter  and  is  perforated  at  the  center.  They  were  probably  used 
as  ear  ornaments.  Excavations  were  made  in  this  mound  to  the 
ground  level,  but  no  additional  objects  were  found  in  it. 

Mound  No.  17 

Mound  No.   17  was  situated  within  a  mile  of    the  mound  last 
described,  on  high  ground,  about  1£  miles  from  the  Rio  Hondo, 
from  which  it  is  separated  by  a  belt  of  swamp.     It  was  conical  in 
shape,  about  40  feet  high,  nearly  90  yards  in  circumference,  and  was 
built  throughout  of  large  blocks  of  limestone,  the  interstices  being 
filled  with  a  friable  mortar,  made  seemingly  from  limestone  dust, 
earth,  and  sand  mixed  together.     Near  the  sum-      ~ 
mit  was  an  irregular  opening,  about  4  feet  across,        \     OT 
which  led  into  a  small  stone-faced  chamber,  15      \A  tartar 
feet  long,  5  feet  broad,  and  6  feet  high.     The     /  1 
opening  had  been  made  by  the  falling  in  of  one    ^ — Jobsidian  disc 
of  the  flags  which  formed  the  roof  of  the  cham-  Flo>  ss —obsidian  disk  in. 
ber;  this  was  found  within  the  chamber  with  a    serted  in  tooth  of  skeleton 

„        ,    ...     ,  —       «  i       <•  i  found  in  Mound  No.  17. 

pile  of  debris,  lhe  floor  was  composed  of  large 
flat  flags,  on  removing  one  of  which  an  aperture  was  made  which  led 
into  a  second  chamber,  of  exactly  the  same  size  as  the  first,  and  imme- 
diately beneath  it.  The  floor  of  this  was  covered  to  a  depth  of  about 
12  inches  with  a  layer  of  soft  brown  river  sand,  in  which  were  found: 
(a)  Paris  of  a  human  skeleton,  seemingly  belonging  to  an  adult  male, 
the  bones  of  which  were  very  friable  and  greatly  eroded.  In  one  of 
the  incisor  teeth  was  inserted  a  small  disk  of  obsidian,  the  outer  surface 
of  which  was  highly  polished  (fig.  58) .  These  ornamental  tooth  fillings 
are  rather  rare,  though  they  have  been  found  from  time  to  time 
in  Yucatan  and  as  far  south  as  Quirigua.  They  were  usually  made 
from  greenstone,  obsidian,  or  iron  pyrites,  all  highly  polished,  the 
only  teeth  ornamented  being  the  incisors  and  canines,  usually  in  the 
upper  jaw.  The  plugging  seems  to  have  been  exclusively  for  orna- 
mental purposes,  not  with  any  idea  of  filling  a  cavity,  the  result  of 
caries  in  the  tooth.1 

i  It  is  curious  that  neither  I.anda  nor  Villiigutierre  mentions  this  ornamental  plugging  of  the  Trout  teeth, 
as,  judging  by  the  number  of  teeth  found,  it  can  not  have  been  of  exceptionally  rare  occurrence. 
I.anda,  who  describes  their  ornaments  very  closely,  mentions  the  filling  of  the  teeth,  but  not  the  phiR- 
ging,  which,  had  it  been  in  vogue  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  in  Yucatan,  he  must  have  heard  about  or  ob- 
served. It  seems  probable  that  the  custom  had  already  become  obsolete  before  the  first  appearance  of 
the  Spaniards  in  Yucatan. 


110 


BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY 


[BULL.  64 


FIG.  59.— Bird  carrying  a  fish  outlined  on  shallow 
plaque  found  in  Mound  No.  17. 


(b)  A  shallow  plaque,  28  cm.  in  diameter,  painted  throughout 
a  dark  reddish-yellow,  and  finely  polished.  Upon  the  upper  surface 
was  outlined  in  fine  black  lines  a  bird,  apparently  a  sea  hawk,  carry- 
ing in  its  claw  a  good-sized  fish,  possibly  a  stone  bass  (fig..  59). 
The  artist  probably  witnessed  this  event  many  times,  as  the  mouth 

of  the  Rio  Hondo,  where  stone 
bass  abound,  is  a  favorite  fish- 
ing ground  for  sea  hawks  and 
frigate  birds. 

(c)  A  number  of  painted  and 
glazed  potsherds  of  all  sizes. 

Beneath  this  second  chamber 
a  third  was  discovered,  roofed  in 
with  rough  flags,  of  the  same 
dimensions  as  the  other  two. 
The  floor  of  this  chamber  was 
cemented  over;  nothing  except 
limestone  blocks  and  mortar  was 
found  between  it  and  the  bot- 
tom of  the  mound.  Upon  the  floor  lay  a  solitary  plaque,  of  a  deep 
reddish-yellow  color,  the  upper  surface  divided  by  black  lines  into 
four  equal  spaces,  in  each  of  which  was  crudely  outlined  in  black  a 
fish,  probably  meant  to  represent  a  stone  bass.  On  digging  into  the 
summit  of  the  mound  outside  the  area  occupied  by  the  chambers, 
the  following  objects  were  brought  to  light:  (a)  A  cylindrical  vase  of 
light,  thin,  well-made  pottery,  16£  cm.  high  by  13  cm.  in  diameter, 
painted  light  yellow  throughout  and  finely  polished  (fig.  60).  Upon 
one  side  of  the  vase,  within  an  oblong  space  outlined  in  black,  are 
a  number  of  curious  mythological  animals,  above  which  is  a  row  of 
six  glyphs,  seemingly  explanatory  of  the  picture  be- 
neath (pi.  19,  a).  Both  animals  and  glyphs  are  very 
carefully  executed  in  red,  black,  and  brown,  on  a 
yellow  background.  The  lowest  figure  on  the  right 
somewhat  resembles  that  on  a  vase  in  the  American 
Museum  of  Natural  History,1  upon  which  the  Long- 
nosed  god  is  associated  with  bulblike  objects,  flowers, 
and  a  bird  (probably  a  pelican).  On  this  vase  the 
Long-nosed  god  is  seen  with  a  bulblike  object,  possibly 
a  root,  from  which  project  interlacing  stalks,  at  the 
ends  of  which  are  water-lily  buds.  Above  these  is  a  bird,  possibly 
a  sea  hawk.  The  whole  connotes  water,  or  fertility,  (b)  A  second 
vase,  similar  in  shape,  but  somewhat  larger  (fig.  61),  is  painted 
yellow  and  polished  throughout.  Upon  this  is  depicted  a  cruciform 
object,  with  outgrowths  from   the  upper  and  lateral  limbs  of  the 


Fig.  60.— Cylindri- 
cal pottery  vase 
found  in  Mound 
No.  17. 


1  See  Spinden,  Maya  Art,  fig.  79. 


BUREAU   OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN  64     PLATE  19 


a.    DECORATION   ON    VASE  SHOWN    IN    FIGURE  60 


b.    DECORATION    OF   VESSEL  FROM    MOUND    NO.    17 


oann] 


MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


111 


Fig.  61.  — Larger 
pottery  vase 
found  in  Mound 
No.  17. 


cross,  probably  a  highly  conventionalized  tree,  (c)  A  shallow  circular 
plaque,  36  cm.  in  diameter,  painted  light  yellow,  and  polished 
throughout.  Upon  its  upper  surface  is  painted,  in  red  and  black, 
a  coiled  plumed  serpent  (fig.  62),  doubtless  intended  to  represent 
Cuculcan,  the  "Feathered  Serpent."  (d)  Two  circular  objects  of 
polished  greenstone,  somewhat  resembling  broad-brimmed  hats  from 
which  the  crowns  have  been  removed  (see  fig.  57,  b). 
Each  has  on  the  upper  surface  of  the  brim  a  small 
ovate  piece  of  mother-of-pearl,  firmly  cemented  to  the 
stone.  These  objects  were  probably  used  as  ear 
plugs;  with  them  were  five  small  perforated  spherical 
beads  of  polished  greenstone. 

At  the  base  of  the  northern  aspect  of  this  mound 
was  a  small  square  enclosure,  surrounded  by  a  stone 
wall  2  to  3  feet  in  height.  On  digging  into  this,  near 
its  center,  an  alligator  made  of  rough  pottery,  15 
inches  long,  was  discovered.  In  the  center  of  its  back 
is  a  small  circular  opening,  covered  by  a  conical  stop- 
per, leading  into  the  hollow  interior,  in  which  was  found  a  small 
perforated  polished  jadeite  bead,  in  the  form  of  a  grotesque  human 
face.  Close  to  the  alligator  lay  a  basin-shaped  vessel,  28  cm.  in 
diameter,  painted  yellow,  and  polished  throughout.  In  the  center 
of  this,  outlined  in  thin  black  lines,  is  the  object  seen  in  plate  19,  b, 

probably  meant  to  represent  the 
two-headed  dragon  so  common  in 
Maya  art. 

Mound  No.  18 

Mound  No.  18,  situated  less  than 
half  a  mile  from  the  next  preced- 
ing, was  10  feet  high,  70  feet  in 
circumference,  roughly  conical  in 
shape,  and  firmly  built  through- 
out of  blocks  of  limestone  the 
interstices  between  which  were 
filled  with  earth  and  limestone 
dust.  At  the  bottom  of  the 
mound,  near  its  center,  resting 
on  the  ground,  was  a  cist,  about  2  feet  in  diameter,  roughly  con- 
structed of  large  flags  of  limestone.  Within  this  were  found  two 
vessels:  (a)  A  basin-shaped  specimen  of  thin  pottery,  painted  red- 
dish-yellow and  polished  throughout;  on  its  inner  surf  ace  is  depicted, 
in  fine  black  lines,  an  object  closely  resembling  a  four-leafed  sham- 
rock, (b)  A  vase  of  the  shape  shown  in  figure  63,  13  cm.  high 
and  13  cm.  in  diameter.     This  is  made  of  rather  thick  pottery;  it  is 


'oiled  plumed  serpent  painted  on  plaque 
found  in  Mound  No.  17. 


112 


BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY 


[BULL.  G4 


painted  light  yellow  and  polished  throughout.  On  the  outer  surface 
of  the  rim,  outlined  in  thin  black  lines,  is  the  glyph  represented 
in  figure  64,  which  is  repeated  all  the  way  round  the  circum- 
ference. No  additional  objects  were  found 
^7^  &<£<*$%(&<£[  m  this  cyst,  nor  were  there  any  traces  of 
bones  in  it,  or  in  the  rest  of  the  mound, 
which  was  afterward  examined. 

Mound  No.  19 

Mound  No.  19,  situated  close  to  the  preced- 
ing, was  6  feet  in  height,  with  flattened  top, 
built  solidly  throughout  of  limestone  blocks 
and  a  friable  mortarlike  substance.     At  the 


no.  63.— Pottery  vase  found  in    ground  level,  near  the  center  of  the  mound, 

were  discovered  two  cists,  placed  side  by 
side,  separated  by  a  partition  wall  built  of  blocks  of  cut  stone. 
Each  cist  was  6  feet  long,  3  feet  broad,  nearly  4  feet  deep,  solidly 
constructed  of  stones  mortared  together.  Neither  the  cists  nor  the 
body  of  the  mound  contained  anything  of  interest  except  a  few 
fragments  of  bone  in  the  last  stages  of  disintegration. 

Mound  No.  20 

Mound  No.  20  was  situated  at  Pueblo  Nuevo,  about  6  miles  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Nuevo,  in  the  northern  district  of  British 
Honduras.  The  mound  was  about  100  feet  in  length  and  varied 
from  8  to  12  feet  in  height  and  from  15  to  25  feet  in  breadth.  It 
was  built  throughout  of  earth,  limestone  dust,  and  blocks  of  lime- 
stone, a  great  many  of  which  had  been  squared.  Immediately 
beneath  the  surface,  running  east  and  west  along  the  long  diameter 
of  the  mound  and  nearly  centrally  placed  in  it,  was  the  upper  sur- 
face of  a  wall,  which  had  evidently  at  one  time  formed  part  of  a  building 
of  considerable  size.  This  wall  was  built  of  finely  squared  blocks  of 
limestone  mortared  to- 
gether, and  was  some- 
what more  than  18 
inches  thick.  It  ex- 
tended for  40  feet, 
turning  at  right  angles 
at  both  the  eastern  and 
western  extremities 
and  was  broken  by  a 
single  opening,  3h  feet  broad  at  the  center.  The  part  of  the  wall  left 
standing  varied  from  2  to  3|  feet  in  height  and  was  covered  on  its 
inner  surface  by  a  layer  of  smooth,  yellow,  very  hard  cement;  the 
outer  surface,  which  still  retained  traces  of  painted  stucco  moldings, 


Fig.  64.— Glvph  outlined  on  outer  surface  of  rim  of  vase  shown  in 
fig.  63. 


ga^n] 


MAYA  INDIANS  OP  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


113 


ended  below  in  a  floor  of  hard  cement  12  inches  thick.  The  greater 
part  of  these  moldings  had  been  broken  away,  but  portions  were 
still  adherent  to  the  wall  and  great  quantities  of  fragments, 
painted  red  and  blue,  were  found  immediately  beneath  the  wall 
from  which  they  had  been 

\ 


_U 


Fig.  65.— Torso,  head,  and  headdress  from  Mound  No.  20. 


broken.  The  most  im- 
portant of  these  were :  (a) 
Two  human  torsos,  one 
(the  more  elaborate)  of 
which  is  seen  in  figure 
65,  c.  (b)  Three  human 
heads,  one  of  which  is  rep- 
resented in  figure  65,  b, 
in  situ.  Both  heads  and 
torsos  are  life  size,  and 
both  are  painted  red  and 
blue  throughout.1  (c) 
Two  headdresses,  one  of 
which  is  seen  in  situ  in 
figure  65,  a;  the  other  is 
almost  precisely  similar 
in  coloring  and  design. 
(d)  Fragments  of  elabo- 
rately molded  pillars,  which  had  originally  separated  the  figures  on 
the  wall.  A  portion  of  one  of  these  is  shown  in  figure  66.  This 
design  was  repeated  three  times  upon  the  front  of  the  pillar,  the  back 
of  which  was  flattened  for  attachment  to  the  wall.  Great  quantities 
of  fragments  of  painted  stucco,  of  all  shapes  and  sizes,  were  dug 
out  of  the  mound,  but  the  human  figures,  with  the  pillars  which  sepa- 
rated them,  were  the  only  objects  the  original 
positions  of  which  on  the  wall  it  was  possible 
to  determine  with  certainty.  Resting  upon  the 
layer  of  hard  cement  in  which  the  wall  termina  t  ed 
below,  between  5  and  6  feet  from  the  eastern  end 
and  close  to  the  wall  itself,  was  found  an  adult 
human  skeleton,  the  bones  of  which  were  hud- 
dled together  within  a  very  small  compass,  in  a 
manner  suggesting  secondary  burial.  In  remov- 
ing these  bones  nearly  all  of  them  crumbled 
to  pieces.  Throughout  t lie  whole  mound  were 
found  numerous  potsherds,  some  of  very  fine  pottery,  colored  and 
polished;  others  thick,  rough,  and  undecorated.  Fragments  of  flint 
and  obsidian,  broken  flint  spearheads  and  scrapers,  and  broken 
obsidian  knives  were  also  found. 


Fig.  66.— Fragment  of  pil- 
lar found  In  Mound  No. 
20. 


"The  photographs  of  the  torso  and  headdress  were  taken  in  England  and  those  of  the  head  in  British 
Honduras.    Consequently  they  do  not  (it  together  as  well  as  do  t  lie  originals. 

70800°— IS— Bull.  04 8 


114  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

Mound  No.  21 

Mound  No.  21  was  situated  near  Corozal,  in  the  northern  district 
of  British  Honduras.  This  mound  had  very  steep  sides;  it  was  50 
feet  in  height  hy  200  feet  in  circumference,  and  was  built  of  blocks 
of  limestone,  the  interstices  of  which  were  filled  with  friable  mortar.1 
Toward  the  west  the  mound  joined  a  smaller  mound,  20  feet  in 
height.  A  rumor  was  current  among  the  Indians  in  the  neighbor- 
hood that  some  years  before  a  number  of  fragments  of  clay  idols 
had  been  found  lying  on  the  surface  of  the  earth  near  the  mound. 
Excavations  were  consequently  made  all  around  the  mound,  for  a 
distance  of  10  to  15  yards  from  its  base,  through  the  alluvial  soil, 
down  to  the  limestone  rock,  a  distance  of  6  inches  to  2  feet.  These 
excavations  brought  to  light  enormous  quantities  of  fragments  of 
crude,  coarse  pottery  vessels,  for  the  greater  part  the  remains  of 
large  hourglass-shaped  incense  burners,  which  had  been  decorated  on 
their  outer  surfaces  with  either  a  human  head  or  an  entire  human 
figure.  Among  these  fragments  were  animal  heads  in  terra  cotta, 
the  snake  and  the  dragon  being  of  most  frequent  occurrence,  but 
the  deer,  alligator,  and  tiger  also  being  represented.  Heads  of  the 
owl,  the  wild  turkey,  and  the  humming  bird  likewise  were  found. 
Fragments  of  about  a  dozen  human  faces  were  brought  to  light, 
with  the  usual  nose  ornaments,  large  round  earrings,  and  labrets. 
Quilted  cotton,  stud  decorated  breastplates,  sandaled  feet,  and 
bracelet-decorated  hands  and  arms  were  also  plentiful.  The  right 
arm  seems  in  most  cases  to  have  been  extended,  holding  in  the 
upward  turned  palm  some  object  as  a  gift  or  offering.  These  objects 
vary  considerably;  three  are  undoubtedly  wild  turkeys, -with  their 
long  necks  coiled  around  their  bodies;  two  are  palm-leaf  fans  attached 
to  handles;  one  appears  to  bo  a  shallow  saucer  containing  three  small 
cakes;  while  two  are  pyramidal,  spike-covered  objects,  possibly 
meant  to  represent  the  fruit  of  the  pitaya  cactus.  With  these  frag- 
ments of  pottery  were  found  four  entire  oval  pottery  vases,  each 
about  4  inches  high,  standing  on  three  short  legs,  each  containing  a 
few  clay  and  polished  greenstone  beads.  Close  to  these  was  a  pair 
of  vases,  shaped  like  a  right  and  left  foot  and  leg,  of  the  size  approxi- 
mately of  those  of  a  child  7  or  8  years  of  age,  greatly  expanded  above 
the  ankle.  These  vases  showed  traces  of  white  and  blue  paint,  which 
had,  however,  almost  completely  worn  off;  around  them  were  a 
considerable  number  of  fragments  of  the  bones  of  deer  and  peccary, 
very  much  decayed.  Close  to  the  base  of  the  mound  was  found  an 
oval  block  of  limestone,  which  formed  the  nucleus  of  a  small  hill, 
2  to  3  feet  high  and  5  to  6  feet  in  diameter,  composed  almost  entirely 
of  pottery  fragments,  with  a  capping  of  humus.  It  is  not  improbable 
that  this  was  the  spot  on  which  the  ceremonial  destruction  of  these 


gann]         MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  115 

incense  burners  took  place,  the  fragments  being  scattered  in  all  direc- 
tions around  the  ontire  circumference  of  the  largo  mound. 

Mound  No.  22 

Mound  No.  22,  situated  at  Saltillo,  noar  the  mouth  of  the  Rio 
Nuovo,  northern  district  of  British  Honduras,  was  partially  explored 
in  1908-9  on  behalf  of  the  Institute  of  Archaeology  of  Liverpool 
University.  The  mound  was  about  30  feet  high;  it  was  built  of 
limestone  blocks,  limestono  dust,,  and  rubble.  It  stands  at  one 
corner  of  a  quadrangular  spaco  measuring  80  by  35  yards,  and  elo- 
vatod  from  4  to  5  feet  above  the  surrounding  ground  level.  This 
space  is  encompassed  by  four  mounds,  joined  by  a  bank  or  rampart 
averaging  10  feot  high.  Around  the  base  of  the  mound  a  great  number 
of  fragments  of  pottery  incense  burners  were  found,  with  the  images  of 
the  gods,  which  decorated  them  externally.  Eight  complete  heads 
and  two  broken  ones  were  recovered,  together  with  arms,  legs,  bodies 
with  quilted  cotton  breastplates  and  maxilis,  elaborate  headdresses,  and 
various  objects  held  in  the  hands  of  the  figures.  These  vessels  are 
almost  exactly  similar  to  those  found  along  the  valley  of  the  Usu- 
masintla  and  Rio  de  la  Pasion,  described  by  Seler  in  his  "Antiquities 
of  Guatemala."  Rude  specimens,  with  the  face  of  the  god  only 
decorating  the  outside  of  the  vessel,  wero  found  by  Sapper  and 
Charnay  in  use  among  the  Lacandon  Indians  a  few  years  ago.  The 
dross  and  ornaments  of  these  clay  figurines,  which  vary  from  1  to  2 
foot  in  height,  are  those  found  almost  universally  throughout  the 
Maya  area.  The  large  circular  ear  ornaments,  with  a  tassel  or 
twisted  pendant  hanging  from  the  center,  the  curious  projecting 
curved  ornament  above  tho  nose,  the  small  button-like  labrets  at 
eacli  corner  of  the  mouth,  are  present  in  all,  and  aro  highly  charac- 
teristic. On  all  the  feet  elaborate  sandals  aro  worn,  fastened  by 
thongs  attached  between  the  first  and  second  and  third  and  fourth 
toes,  with  a  band  passing  around  the  ankle  ending  in  a  broad  depend- 
ent flap.  Around  tho  legs  are  plain  bands  and  strings  of  beads; 
around  tho  wrists,  strings  of  beads,  in  some  cases  fastened  by  an 
ornamental  loop.  Tho  breastplates  aro  of  quilted  cotton,  some  very 
elaborate,  and  decorated  with  beads,  studs,  and  tassels,  while  below 
the  breastplate  covering  the  genitals  is  the  maxtli,  or  small  apron, 
commonly  worn  by  both  Maya  and  Aztec.  Tho  objects  held  in 
the  hands  consist  of  birds,  fans,  globes,  incense  burners,  and  other 
less  easily  distinguishable  articles.  Tho  wholo  of  tho  spaco  within 
tho  earthwork  appears  to  have  been  sprinkled  with  these  fragments 
of  pottery  vases  and  idols,  but  it  was  only  around  tho  base  of  the  large 
mound  that  ontire  heads  were  found.  The  fragments  seem  to  have 
boon  originally  placed  on  tho  earth,  and  in  course  of  time  to  have 
boon  covered  by  a  thin  layer  of  humus  from  decaying  vegetation, 


116  BUREAU   OF   AMEBICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [boll.  64 

as  many  of  them  still  lie  on  tile  surface,  and  nowhere  are  they  buried 
moro  than  a  few  inches,  except  at  the  base  of  the  mound,  where 
earth  from  its  side,  washed  down  by  rains,  would  naturally  have 
covered  them  with  a  slightly  deeper  layer.  On  making  excavations 
at  various  points  within  the  enclosed  space,  the  floor  was  found  to 
consist  first  of  the  earth  which  contained  the  broken  incense  burners, 
with  some  blocks  of  limestone,  and  beneath  this  of  a  layer  about  4 
feet  thick  composed  of  marl  dust,  very  small  fragments  of  pottery, 
and  rubble,  welded  together  into  an  almost  cement-like  mass. 

Mound  No.  23 

Mound  No.  23  was  situated  near  the  northern  end  of  Chetumal 
Bay,  on  the  east  coast  of  Yucatan.  The  mound  was  12  feet  in  height, 
roughly  circular  in  shape,  and  12  yards  in  diameter  at  the  base. 
The  top  was  flattened,  and  near  its  center  a  circular  space  10  feet 
in  diameter  was  inclosed  by  a  low,  roughly  built  stone  wall.  On 
digging  within  this  space  there  were  brought  to  light,  immediately 
beneath  the  surface,  the  following  objects: 

(a)  Part  of  a  large  hourglass-shaped  incense  burner  in  rough 
pottery,  decorated  with  a  human  figure  in  high  relief,  20  inches  high. 
Unfortunately  the  left  arm  and  leg  and  part  of  the  chest  are  missing 
from  this  figure,  which,  judging  by  the  headdress,  curved  nose,  and 
tusk-like  teeth,  is  probably  intended  to  represent  the  God  Cuculcan. 
The  left  foot  is  sandaled,  and  on  the  left  wrist  is  a  loop-fastened  string 
of  beads,  while  over  the  front  of  the  chest  hangs  a  breastplate  of 
quilted  cotton,  decorated  with  flaps  and  fastened  over  the  shoulders.1 
Round  the  neck  is  a  flat  gorget,  decorated  with  round  bosses,  and 
in  the  ears  are  large  circular  ear  plugs  with  tassels  dependent  from 
their  centers.  Over  the  upper  part  of  the  nose  is  a  curious  curved, 
snake-like  ornament.  The  lofty  headdress,  with  broad  flaps  extend- 
ing over  each  ear  almost  to  the  shoulders,  has  in  front  the  head  and 
upper  jaw  of  some  mythological  animal,  the  latter  projecting  well, 
over  the  face  of  the  god,  as  if  in  the  act  of  swallowing  him.  Point- 
ing downward  from  the  plumed  ornament  on  the  right  side  of  the  figure 
(the  corresponding  one  on  the  left  has  been  broken  away)  is  a  cro- 
talus  head,  which  so  often  accompanies  representations  of  this  god. 
The  figure  still  exhibits  traces  of  blue  and  white  paint  on  that  part  of 
the  face  protected  by  the  broad  flap  of  the  headdress,  and  originally 
doubtless  the  whole  was  painted  in  various  colors,  which  first 
exposure  to  rain  and  afterward  burial  in  moist  earth,  have  almost 
completely  obliterated,     (b)  An  earthenware   figure,    26   inches  in 

1  It  would  appear  that  these  thick  woven  or  plaited  cotton  breastplates  were  fortified  with  salt. 
Landa,  op.  cit.,  p.  48:  "Y  sus  rodelas  y  iacos  fuertes  de  sal  y  algodon." 

Ibid.  p.  172:   "  Hazian  xacosde  algodon  colchados  y  desalpor  molercolchadadedostandasocolchaduras, 
y  estos  eran  fortissimos. " 


gaxx]         MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  117 

height,  which  doubtless  at  one  time  ornamented  tho  outer  surface  of 
a  large  incense  burner.  Tho  left  foot  and  leg  are  gone;  the  right  foot 
is  covered  with  a  sandal  held  on  by  a  curved  heelpiece  rising  above 
the  back  of  the  ankle,  and  fastened  in  a  bow  in  front  of  the  instep, 
while  a  leather  thong  passing  between  the  great  and  second  toe  is 
attached  to  this,  holding  the  front  part  of  the  sandal  in  place. 
Round  the  leg  is  a  broad  band,  with  a  row  of  semilunar  ornaments 
projecting  downward  from  it.  The  maxtli  has  been  broken  away, 
but  the  quilted  cotton  chest  covering  is  still  in  position.  This  is 
held  in  place  by  bands  passing  over  the  shoulders,  and  is  ornamented 
by  a  row  of  live  circular  studs  passing  down  its  center,  with  long 
tassels  below,  which  must  have  hung  on  each  side  of  the  maxtli, 
and  tassels  above,  attached  near  the  shoulder,  which  hang  down  on 
each  side  of  it.  The  throat  is  covored  by  a  broad  band,  decorated 
along  its  lower  edge  with  four  pairs  of  small  circular  studs.  Round 
the  left  wrist  is  a  bracelet  composed  of  six  flat  oval  beads,  fastened 
in  front-  by  an  ornamental  loop.  The  left  arm  is  extended,  and  in 
tho  hand,  hold  palm  upward,  is  grasped  an  acorn-shaped  object 
from  which  project  nine  spikes.  From  each  side  of  the  mouth 
project  long  curved  tusks.  The  nose  is  of  unusual  shape,  being 
long,  straight,  and  slender;  tho  bridge  is  covered  by  a  curved  snake- 
like object.  The  headdress  rises  6  inches  above  the  suporciliary 
ridges;  its  lower  part  consists  of  the  head  and  upper  mandible  of 
the  bill  of  some  bird,  probably  a  hawk  or  eagle.  Above  this  rises  a 
hollow  cylindrical  erection,  with  tho  upper  border  scalloped,  sup- 
ported on  each  side  by  objects  which  suggest  broad  stone  blades, 
hafted  in  club-shaped  handles,  and  ornamented  in  front  with  a 
plume  of  feathers.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  figure  is 
meant  to  represent  the  God  Itzamna,  as  the  sunken  cheeks,  the 
single  large  tooth  on  each  side  of  the  mouth,  and  the  prominent, 
though  well-formed  nose,  are  all  characteristics  of  this  god.  (c)  An 
earthenware  figure,  closely  similar  in  size  and  appearance  to  those 
just  described.  Of  the  face  only  the  left  eye,  the  left  side  of  the 
mouth,  and  the  nose  are  left;  the  last  named  is  short,  rounded,  and 
well  formed,  and  is  ornamented  at  its  root  with  a  small  round  stud. 
(d)  Fragments  of  a  rough  bowl  of  yellowish  pottery,  which  must 
have  been  of  considerable  size.  Unfortunately  only  four  fragments 
were  found;  these  exhibit  on  their  outer  surfaces  parts  of  a  hiero- 
glyphic inscription,  rougldy  incised  in  the  clay  while  it  was  soft, 
with  some  sharp-pointed  instrument.  Of  the  many  glyphic  inscrip- 
tions which  have  been  found  at  different  times  in  British  Hon- 
duras, painted  on  pottery  and  stucco  and  incised  on  pottery,  stone, 
and  other  material,  none  has  proved  to  be  an  initial  series,  which 
would  fix  the  period  in  the  Maya  long  count  when  tho  mounds,  temples, 
burial    places,    and    other    monuments   scattered    throughout    this 


118  BUREAU    OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

colony,  were  constructed.  According  to  recent  researches  the  latest 
date  recorded  by  an  initial  series  on  the  monoliths  of  Quirigua,  in 
Guatemala,  is  within  about  70  years  of  the  earliest  date  recorded  by 
any  of  the  initial  series  found  up  to  the  present  among-  the  ruins 
of  Yucatan.1  As  the  tide  of  Maya  migration  was  undoubtedly  from 
south  to  north,  and  as  British  Honduras  stands  midway  between 
Guatemala  and  Yucatan,  it  is  only  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the 
colonization  of  the  greater  part  of  it  by  the  Maya  took  place  at 
some  period  between  the  abandonment  of  the  cities  of  Quirigua  and 
Coban,  and  the  rise  of  Chichen  Itza,  Uxmal,  and  other  Yucatan 
cities.  This  theory  is  borne  out  by  the  fact  that  the  hieroglyphic 
inscriptions  and  pictographs  found  in  the  colony  are  closely  allied 
to  those  found  both  in  the  northern  and  southern  cities;  moreover, 
the  painted  stucco  and  wooden  lintels  so  common  in  Yucatan,  but 
not  found  in  the  south,  are  present  here,  while  the  sculptured  stelae 
found  in  the  south,  but  of  extreme  rarity  in  northern  Yucatan,  are 
(though  not  very  numerous  and  poorly  executed)  found  in  British 
Honduras,  (e)  Large  quantities  of  fragments  of  rough  pottery  vases 
and  bowls;  some  of  these  evidently  belonged  to  hourglass-shaped 
incense  burners,  2  to  3  feet  high,  decorated  with  incised  lines  and 
glyphs,  raised  bands,  and  studs,  but  without  human  figures  on  their 
exterior  surfaces.  A  number  of  these  fragments  were  taken  down  to 
the  camp  of  some  chicle  bleeders  in  the  vicinity;  unfortunately  in 
the  night  the  palm-leaf  shelters  caught  fire  and  the  whole  camp  was 
burned  to  the  ground,  most  of  the  potsherds  being  lost  or  destroyed. 
Among  these  were  probably  the  missing  parts  of  the  clay  figures 
and  of  the  hieroglyphic-covered  pot.  The  whole  of  the  mound  was 
dug  down,  but  with  the  exception  of  traces  of  a  wall  built  of  squared 
stones  on  the  ground  level,  nothing  worthy  of  note  was  found  in  it. 
It  is  almost  certain  that  this  mound  had  never  been  visited  from 
the  time  of  its  erection  till  its  discovery  last  year  by  chicle  bleeders 
looking  for  sapodilla  trees  in  this  very  remote  corner  of  Yucatan. 
The  clay  images  were  lying  on  the  top  of  the  mound,  partially 
uncovered,  and  had  anyone,  even  an  Indian,  visited  the  place,  they 
would  almost  certainly  have  removed  these,  as  there  is  always  a 
ready  market  for  idolos,  as  the  Indians  call  every  relic  of  their  ances- 
tors, among  curio  collectors  who  visit  Belize. 

Mound  No.  24 

Mound  No.  24  was  situated  near  the  coast,  at  the  northern  extrem- 
ity of  Chetumal  Bay,  in  Yucatan.  This  mound  was  10  feet  high 
by  about  10  yards  in  diameter.  Upon  the  summit,  which  was 
flattened,  were  found  a  great  number  of  rough  potsherds,  partially 
buried  in  a  layer  of  humus  from  6  to  12  inches  deep.     These  were  evi- 

1  Moeley,  An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Maya  Hieroglyphs,  p.  15. 


BUREAU   OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN  64     PLATE  20 


INCENSE   BURNER   FROM    MOUND   NO.  24 


gann] 


MAYA  INDIANS  OF'  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


119 


dently  fragments  of  incense  burners,  as  arms,  legs,  and  parts  of  head- 
dresses, faces,  maxtlis,  and  breastplates  were  plentiful  among  them. 
Near  the  center  of  the  summit,  partially  projecting  from  the  earth, 
was  discovered  the  almost  complete  incense  burner  shown  in  plate  20 
and  figure  67.  The  vessel  which  served  as  a  receptacle  for  the 
incense  is  15 \  inches  high  by  9  inches  in  diameter  at  the  mouth.  The 
human  figure  which  decorates  the  side  of  the  vessel  is  22  inches  in 
height  from  the  top  of  the  headdress  to  the  sole  of  the  sandals.  The 
figurine  was  not  complete  when  first  discovered,  as  the  hands,  arms, 
feet,  maxtli,  and  feather  ornaments  from  the  sides  and  headdress  were 
missing;  nearly  all  of  these,  however,  were  unearthed,  mixed  with 
other  pieces  of  pottery,  not  far  from  the  incense  burner.  The  head- 
dress consists  of  a  flat,  broad  cap  with  slightly  projecting  rim  and 
large  quadrangular  flaps,  which  extend 
downward  and  outward  over  the  large 
ear  plugs.  The  back  of  the  cap  ex- 
tends upward  3  inches;  the  crown  is 
decorated  with  feather  ornaments, 
while  on  each  side  appears  an  object 
resembling  half  an  ear  of  maize,  from 
the  top  of  which  depends  a  tassel. 
The  nose  is  sharp,  thin,  and  promi- 
nent; starting  on  each  side  of  it  and 
parsing  down  almost  to  the  angles  of 
the  jaw,  where  it  ends  in  a  little  up- 
ward curl,  is  what  might  be  intended 
as  either  a  mustache  or  some  form  of 
nose  ornament.  From  each  angle  of 
the  mouth  projects  a  circular  labret; 
this  evidently  passes  behind  the  upper 
lip,  which  it  causes  to  bulge  consider- 
ably. The  ear  plugs  are  large,  round, 
and  funnel-shaped  (pi.  20);  these,  as 
well  as  the  shoulders,  show  traces  of 
blue  paint,  with  which  the  entire  figure 
was  evidently  at  one  time  covered.  Around  the  neck  is  a  flat  collar 
decorated  with  five  circular  studs,  to  the  sides  and  front  of  which  is 
attached  a  hollow  cylindrical  bar,  wliich  supports  the  quilted  cotton 
breastplate.  The  latter  is  decorated  with  six  tassels,  tliree  above 
and  three  below,  and  below  it  is  seen  the  plain  apron  (maxtli),  wliich 
descends  almost  to  the  sandals.  The  shoulders  are  covered  with  caps 
or  epaulets  reaching  just  below  the  armpits;  on  the  forearms  are  brace- 
lets, fastened  with  loops  on  the  inner  side,  and  on  tho  feet  sandals, 
held  in  place  by  vertical  heelpieces  and  thongs,  and  decorated  with 
large  flaps,  which  almost  cover  the  dorsum  of  each  foot.     Attached 


Fig.  67. — Another  view  of  incense  burner 
shown  in  plate  20. 


120 


BUREAU    OF   AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


[bull.*64 


to  the  incense  burner,  and  forming  a  background  for  the  figure,  are  pro- 
jecting feather  ornaments  extending  from  the  headdress  to  the  elbow. 
The  mound  was  dug  away  to  the  ground  level.  It  was  found  to 
be  built  of  blocks  of  limestone  and  earth,  but  nothing  of  moment  was 
found  in  it  with  the  exception  of  numerous  potsherds  of  all  kinds. 

Mound  No.  25 

Mound  No.  25  was  situated  in  the  country  of  the  Icaiche  Indians, 
Quintana  Roo,  Yucatan.  The  mound  was  discovered  by  the  Indians 
when  cutting  down  virgin  bush  to  make  a  milpa,  or  corn  plantation. 

It  was  a  moderate-sized  mound, 
about  10  feet  high,  and  upon  its 
summit,  uncovered,  lay  the  ob- 
jects illustrated  in  figures  68,  69, 
and  70.  Figure  68  exhibits  a 
roughly  formed  clay  figurine, 
nearly  1  foot  in  height,  decorat- 
ing a  small  hourglass-shaped  in- 
cense burner.  Both  figure  and 
vase  are  very  crudely  modeled  in 
rough  pottery;  most  of  the  prom- 
inent characteristics  of  the  care- 
fully modeled  and  elaborately 
decorated  incense  burner  repre- 
sented in  plate  20  and  figure  67 
are  still  retained.  The  large 
round  ear  plugs,  with  long  flaps 
from  the  headdress  overlapping 

Fig.  68.-Incense  burner  decorated  with  crude  clay  them,    the    horizontally    Striated 
figurine  from  Mound  No.  25.  .  .  1  ,. 

breastplate,  and  even  a  rudiment- 
ary maxili,  together  with  the  extended  position  of  the  arms,  as  if  in  the 
actof  making  an  offering,  and  the  background  of  featherworkarefeatures 
which  may  be  recognized.  There  is  exhibited,  however,  a  lamentable 
decadence  from  the  art  which  fabricated  the  more  elaborate  vase.  In 
figure  69  may  be  seen  what  probably  represents  a  further  stage  of  de- 
generation— namely,  the  substitution  of  the  head  for  the  entire  figure 
on  the  outside  of  the  incense  burner.  The  last  stage  of  all  in  the 
decadence  of  this  branch  of  Maya  art  is  to  be  seen  in  the  small 
crude  bowls  found  by  Sapper  in  the  great  Christa  of  the  settlement  of 
Izan,  and  by  Charnay  in  the  ruins  of  Menche  Tinamit.1     These  bowls, 


1  Accounts  of  the  finding  of  these  incense  burners  and  of  copal  are  common  in  both  ancient  and  modern 
times.  "Halle  en  una  de  las  dos  Capillas  cacao  ofrecido,  y  scfial  de  copal  (que  es  su  incienso)  de  poeo 
tiempo  alii  quemado,  y  que  lo  era  de  alsuna  supersticion,  6  idolatria  recien  cometida." — Cogolludo,  His- 
toria  de  Yucathan,  Bk.  iv,  Cap.  vn,  p.  193. 

"Y  los  que  ivan  tenlan  de  costumbre  de  entrar  tambien  en  templos  derelictos,  quando  passavan  poi 
ellos  a  orar  y  quemar  copal." — Landa,  op.  cit.,  p.  158. 


«ann]         MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


121 


each  decorated  with  a  roughly  modeled  human  face,  are  manufac- 
tured by  the  modern  Indians  and  used  by  them  in  burning  copal 
gum  in  the  ruins  of  the  temples  erected  by  their  ancestors.  Figure  70 
shows  a  life-sized  hollow  head,  in  rough  pottery,  with  a  thin  hollow 
neck,  probably  used  to  carry  around  in  processions  on  the  top  of  a  long 
pole.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  these  bowls  and  hourglass-shaped 
vessels,  each  decorated  externally  with  a  human  figure  or  face,  usually 
that  of  a  god,  were  used  as  incense  burners,  since  a  number  of  them,  as 
already  stated,  were  found  in  a 
mound  at  Santa  Rita  with  half 
burnt  out  incense  still  contained 
in  them.  Moreover,  their  use  for 
this  purpose  persists  to  the  present 
day  among  the  Lacandones1  and 
even  among  the  Santa  Cruz 
Indians.  These  incense  burners 
occur  most  frequently  in  the  cen- 
tral part  of  the  Maya  area  and  are 
not  common  in  northern  Yucatan 
or  southern  Guatemala.  Three 
distinct  types  are  found :  The  first 
include  the  large,  well-modeled 
specimens  found  in  and  around 
burial  mounds,  decorated  with 
the  complete  figure  of  the  god 
(usually  Cuculcan  or  Itzamna), 
having  every  detail  in  clothing 
and  ornament  carefully  executed 
in  high  relief.  These  are  all  prob- 
ably pre-Columbian,  and  such  as 
have  been  found  seem  to  have  been  used  only  as  ceremonial  mor- 
tuary incense  burners,  to  be  broken  into  fragments  (which  were 
scattered  through  or  over  the  burial  mound)  immediately  after  use. 

"While  searching  the  upper  steps  of  the  pyramid  my  men  found  two  interesting  Incense  vessels  with 
a  head  on  the  rim."— Maler,  Researches  in  the  Central  Portion  of  the  t'sumatsintla  Valley,  Part  2, 
p.  136. 

"In  nearly  all  the  houses  (speaking  of  Yaxchilan)  I  found  earthen  pots,  partly  Idled  with  some  half- 
burned  resinous  substance.  .  .  .  They  were  in  great  numbers  round  the  idol  in  the  house  I  lived  in. 
Some  looked  much  newer  than  others,  and  many  are  in  such  positions  that  it  was  clear  that  they  had  b:  en 
placed  there  since  the  partial  destruction  of  the  houses." — Macdslay,  Explorations  in  Guatemala. 
pp.  is",  2d|. 

Ciiarnay,  Voyage  au  Yucatan  et  au  pays  des  Lacandons,  pp.  3.1  is. 

"Sc  trouvent  une  multitude  de  vfeses  d'une  terre  grossiere,  et  dune  forme  nouvelle;  ce  sont  des  bols 
de  dix  it  quinze  centimetres  de  diametrc  sur  cinq  a  six  do  hauteur,  dont  les  bords  sont  omds  de  masque 
humains  rrprrisentanl  des  figures  camardes  et  d'autres  a,  grands  net  bus  \u6s,  vtJril  tblcs  caricatures  oft 

Part  fait  compl&tcmcnl  deTaut Ccs  vases  scrvaicnl  de  brule-parfuras,  et  la  pluparl  sont  encore  a 

mcitie  pleins  de  copal."     CHARNAY,  Ibid.,  p.  B8. 

1  "These  Incense-bumcrs  are  used  by  the  Lacandones  in  their  religious  ceremonies.  Each  family  or 
group  of  connected  families  living  together  possesses  several  of  the  incense-burners  or  bra.vcros."— Tozzi  i!. 
Comparative  Study  of  the  Mayas  and  lacandones,  p.  M. 


Fig.  69.- 


Crude  clay  figurine  found  in  Mound 
No.  25. 


122 


BUREAU    OF   AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


[  BULL.  64 


The  specimen  shown  in  plate  20  and  figure  67  is  a  typical  example  of 
this  class. 

Incense  burners  of  the  second  type  are  smaller,  cruder,  and  probably 
later  in  date  than  those  of  the  first  type.  Some  of  these  are  deco- 
rated with  the  entire  figure,  but  more  of  them  with  the  face  only  of 
the  god. 

Villagutierre  tells  us  that  the  Indians  of  this  region  as  late  as  the 
end  of  the  seventeenth  century  still  practiced  to  some  extent  the 
rites  of  their  ancient  religion;1  and  in  the  voyages  which  he  describes 

up  the  Rio  Hondo,  and  to 
Tipu,  the  Spaniards  must 
frequently  have  come  in  con- 
tact with  the  ancestors  of 
the  present  Santa  Cruz  and 
Icaiche  Indians,  from  whose 
territory  the  specimens 
shown  in  figures  68  and  69, 
typical  examples  of  this 
class,  were  taken.  During 
the  early  years  of  the  Spanish 
occupancy  it  is  probable  that 
the  Indians,  even  in  this  re- 
mote and  little  visited  region, 
living  in  a  constant  state  of 
semiwarfare  and  rebellion, 
robbed,  enslaved,  driven 
from  their  villages,  with 
little  time  to  cultivate  their 
milpas,  gradually  lost  their 
ancient  traditions  and  arts, 
and,  long  neglecting,  ultimately  almost  entirely  forgot,  the  elaborate 
ritual  connected  with  their  former  religion.  Such  a  decadence  may 
be  observed  in  comparing  the  incense  burners  illustrated  in  plate  20 
and  figure  68.  The  very  marked  facial  characteristics  of  the  former 
have  given  place  to  the  crudely  modeled,  vacuous  face  of  the  latter, 
resembling  the  work  of  a  child;  while  the  elaborate  dress  and  orna- 
ment, each  minutest  part  of  which  probably  had  a  special  significance 
and  symbolism,  though  retaining  to  some  extent  the  form  of  their 
main  constituents — the  headdress,  breastplate,  maxtli,  and  sandals — 
have  almost  completely  lost  the  wealth  of  detail  which  gave  them 
significance. 

1  "  Y  las  dos  mas  grandes,  dc  Comunidad,  y  la  otra,  aim  mas  grandc,  que  todas  las  otras,  era  el  Adoratorio 
de  los  perversos  Idolos  de  aquellos  Laeandones,  donde  se  hallaron  muchos  de  ellos,  do  formas  raras,  como 
assimismo  cantidad  de  Gallinas  muertas,  lirasseros,  con  sefiales  de  aver  quemado  Copal;  y  aunse  hallaron 
las  cenizas  calientes,  y  otras  diversas,  ridiculas,  y  abominables  eosas,  pertenecientes  a  la  execicuion  desus 
perversos  Ritos,  y  Sacrifieios." — Villagutierre,  op.  eit.,  p.  264. 


Fig.  70. — Crude  clay  figurine  found  in  Mound  No.  25. 


gann]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  123 

Incense  burners  of  the  third  type  are  decorated  with  a  very  crude 
representation  of  the  face  only  of  the  god,  consisting  in  some  cases 
merely  of  slits  for  the  eyes  and  mouth,  with  a  conical  projection  for 
the  nose,  on  the  outer  surface  of  the  vessel.  Some  of  the  faces  are 
represented  conventionally  by  two  ears,  with  ear  plugs,  one  on  each 
side  of  the  vessel,  or  by  knobs  of  clay  on  its  outer  edge,  which  repre- 
sent the  hair.  Lastly,  the  incense  burner,  which  may  be  recognized 
by  its  hourglass  shape,  may  be  quite  plain  and  undecorated. 

The  third  type  is  probably  the  latest  in  point  of  time; '  this  includes 
the  crude  face-decorated  bowls  still  used  by  the  modern  Lacandones,2 
among  whom  the  ritual,  as  is  so  frequently  the  case,  seems  to  have 
survived  almost  in  its. entirety  the  faith  which  gave  birth  to  it. 
This  is  the  more  readily  comprehensible  when  we  remember  that  the 
manufacture  and  use  of  these  ceremonial  incense  burners  was  practiced 
commonly  by  all  classes  of  the  people,  not  having  been  restricted, 
like  most  other  details  of  the  Maya  ritual,  solely  to  the  priests. 


0  b 

Fig.  71.— Small  pottery  vases  found  in  Mound  No.  26. 

Mound  No.  26 

Mound  No.  26  was  situated  in  a  clearing  about  7  miles  to  the  south 
of  Corozal,  in  the  northern  part  of  British  Honduras.  There  were 
about  20  mounds,  irregularly  grouped,  in  this  clearing,  varying  from 
6  to  12  feet  in  height  and  from  50  to  120  feet  in  circumference.  The 
mound  was  8  feet  high  by  80  feet  in  circumference.  It  was  built  of 
rough  blocks  of  limestone,  limestone  dust,  and  earth,  tightly  packed 

1  See  Tozzer,  op.  cit.,  p.  87:  "If  we  consider  the  type  of  bowl  with  the  knob-like  projection  as  a  transi- 
tion form,  we  are  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  most  primitive  form  of  incense  burner  was  the  bowl  on 
which  was  represented  the  whole  body  at  first,  and  then  the  head  of  a  person  or  animal." 

Ibid.,  p.  91:  "The  Lacandones  assert  that  in  former  times  the  incense  burners  were  made  in  other  forms, 
some  possessing  arms  and  legs.    These  are  seldom  made  or  used  now." 

■  These  face-decorated  bowls  were  in  use  as  incense  burners  among  the  Mayas  of  Valladolid,  very  shortly 
after  the  conquest.  See  Relacion  de  la  villa  de  Valladolid,  p.  l*-">:  "Adoraban  unos  idolos  hechos  de  barro 
A  manera  de  jarillos  y  de  macetas  de  albabaca,  hechos  en  ellos  de  la  parte  de  afuera  rostros  desemejados, 
quemaban  dentro  de  estos  una  resina  llamada  copal,  de  gran  oler.  Esto  les  ofreclan  a  estos  idolos,  y  ellos 
cortaban  en  muchas,  partes  de  sus  miembros  y  ofreclan  aquella  sangre." 

See  also  Uelacion  de  los  pueblos  de  I'opola.  y  Sinslmato  y  Samiol,  pp.  44-45:  "Csaban  de  adorar  unos 
jarrillos  hechos  en  ellos  rostros  desemejados,  teniandolos  por  sus  ydolos  qucmavan  dentro  y  ofresian  um 
resina  llamada  copal  (pies  eomo  trementina  elada,  do  gran  olor,  y  se  cortavan  en  muchas  partes  para  ofrecer 
la  sangre  a  aquel  ydolo." 


124  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  G4 

together,  forming  a  tough,  resistant  mass.  The  mound  was  com- 
pletely removed  to  the  ground  level,  but  nothing  of  interest  except 
chips  of  flint,  fragments  of  obsidian  knives,  and  potsherds  was  found 
till  the  ground  level  was  reached.  Lying  upon  this,  near  the  center 
of  the  mound,  were  found  the  two  small  vases  represented  in  figure 
71,  a,  b.  Each  is  about  6  inches  in  diameter;  the  one  marked  a  is 
of  polished  red  pottery,  nearly  globular  in  shape;  b  is  of  dark 
chocolate-colored  pottery,  also  finely  polished.  There  was  a  space 
of  about  4  feet  between  the  two  vessels,  in  which  were  found  frag- 
ments of  human  bones. 

Mound  No.  27 

Mound  No.  27  was  situated  within  100  yaras  of  the  next  preceding, 
compared  with  which  it  was  slightly  smaller.  It  was  built  of  blocks 
of  limestone,  limestone  dust,  and  earth.  No  remains  were  found  in 
the  mound  till  the  ground  level  was  reached.  Resting  on  this, 
about  the  center  of  the  mound,  lay  a  small  vase 
(fig.  72),  8  inches  in  height,  of  rough  red  pottery. 
Close  to  this  were  a  few  fragments  of  human 
bones  and  some  teeth.  This  mound  contained 
nothing  else  of  interest. 

Mound  No.  28 

Mound  No.  28  was  situated  close  to  Nos.  26  and 
27,  and  was  built  of  similar  material.  It  was  6  feet 
high  by  120  feet  in  circumference.  On  the  ground 
fig.  72.-Red  pottery  level  about  the  center  of  the  mound  lay  a  circular, 
vase  found  in  Mound  flat-bottomed  bowl  8  inches  in  diameter,  painted  a 
dark  chocolate  color  and  polished .  A  hole  had  been 
bored  in  its  bottom  and  the  bowl  itself  was  broken  into  three  pieces. 
With  it  was  an  irregularly  shaped  piece  of  flint  about  5  inches  in 
length,  into  which  nearly  20  circular  holes  had  been  bored.  It  would 
appear  that  this  piece  of  flint  had  been  used  to  test  the  merits  of  vari- 
ous boring  implements,  as  some  of  the  holes  were  shallow  depressions, 
while  others  were  half  an  inch  deep.  Most  of  them  were  mere  circu- 
lar depressions  of  varying  diameters,  with  a  smooth  flat  bottom,  and 
had  evidently  been  made  with  a  solid  cylindrical  borer ,  others,  how- 
ever, had  a  solid  core  projecting  from  their  bottom,  and  appeared  to 
have  been  bored  with  a  hollow  cylinder;  while  a  third  variety  had  a 
small  ind  entation  at  the  summit  of  this  central  core.  No  further  exca- 
vation was  done  in  this  group  of  mounds,  as  they  all  appeared  to  be 
sepulchral,  belonging  to  persons  of  the  poorer  class,  hence  it  was 
considered  very  improbable  that  objects  of  interest  would  be  found 
in  them. 


BUREAU    OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN   64      PLATE  21 


a.   SMALL  VASE   DECORATED   WITH    HUMAN    HEAD 


b.    HUMAN    BONES    FROM    MOUND    NO.  29 


gaxx]         MAYA.  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  125 

'     Mound  No.  29 

Mound  No.  29,  situated  close  to  the  seashore,  near  Corozal,  was  of 
unusual  construction,  being  built  throughout  of  marl  dust.  It  was 
a  low,  flat  mound,  2  feet  in  height  by  25  feet  in  diameter.  Nothing 
of  human  origin  was  found  in  it  with  the  exception  of  a  few  rough 
potsherds.  On  reaching  the  ground  level  two  circular  well-like  holes, 
2  feet  in  diameter,  were  discovered,  about  15  feet  apart.  At  the  top 
both  openings  were  covered  with  large  blocks  of  limestone,  on  removing 
which  it  was  found  that  each  hole  was  filled  with  marl  dust,  enclosing 
in  both  cases  a  single  male  human  skeleton.  The  knees  had  been  forci- 
bly flexed  on  the  thighs,  and  the  thighs  on  the  pelvis,  while  the  back 
had  been  bent  till  the  head,  which  rested  on  the  folded  arms,  almost 
touched  the  symphysis  pubis.  Evidently  the  body  had  been  doubled 
up  at  the  time  of  burial,  so  as  to  fit  tightly  into  the  cavity,  and  had 
been  further  compressed  by  ramming  down  large  stones  on  top  of 
the  marl  dust  with  which  it  was  surrounded.1  The  bones  in  one 
of  the  graves  were  in  an  excellent  state  of  preservation,  as  may  be 
seen  from  plate  21,  b;  they  are  those  of  a  young  adult  male,  prob- 
ably somewhat  more  than  5  feet  in  height,  of  poor  muscular  develop- 
ment. The  teeth  are  excellent;  the  skull  is  decidedly  brachicephalic, 
the  measurements  being:  Length,  15.4  cm.;  breadth,  17.5  cm.; 
circumference,  52  cm.;  cephalic  index,  113.  Beneath  this  skele- 
ton were  found  an  unfinished  flint  arrowhead,  four  fragments  of 
small  obsidian  knives,  and  the  broken  fragments  of  a  small,  round, 
unpolished  chocolate-colored  bowl. 

The  bones  in  the  other  cist,  though  placed  apparently  under  pre- 
cisely the  same  conditions  as  the  one  first  opened,  were  found  to  be 
so  friable  that  they  crumbled  into  fragments  when  an  effort  was 
made  to  remove  them  Beneath  them  were  found  only  fragments  of 
obsidian  knives. 

Mound  No.  30 

Mound  No.  30,  situated  close  to  Corozal,  was  completely  dug  down, 
and  was  found  to  contain  multiple  burials.  The  mound  was  8  feet  in 
height,  roughly  circular,  and  40  feet  in  diameter.  It  was  capped  by  a 
layer  of  reddish-brown  earth,  6  inches  to  1  foot  in  thickness,  beneath 
which  were  alternate  layers  of  soft  cement, each  about  1  foot  thick,  and 
of  small  limestone  rubble  about  2  feet  thick.  Scattered  over  the  sur- 
face of  the  mound,  just  beneath  the  earth  capping,  were  found  a  num- 
ber of  fragments  of  clay  figurines.  The  best  preserved  of  these  were 
three  human  faces,  an  arm  with  the  hand  holding  a  small  bird,  a  bird's 
head,  an  alligator's  head,  and  a  plaited  cotton  breastplate.  At 
depths  varying  from  2  to  'A  feet,  six  interments  were  found;  of  these 


1  "Quo  on  muriendo  la  persona,  para  sopultar  el  cuorpo  le  doblan  las  piernas  y  ponen  la  cara  sobre  las 
nxlillas    .  .  .    abrenen  tierraun  hoyoredondo.'" — Cogolludo,  op.  cit.,  Ilk.  xn,  Chap,  vn,  p.  699. 


126  BUREAU    OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

only  a  few  fragments  of  the  skull  and  long  bones  remained,  not 
enough  to  determine  even  the  position  in  which  the  corpse  had  been 
placed  at  burial.  With  the  bones,  in  some  cases  close  to  them,  in 
others  at  some  little  distance,  the  following  objects  were  discovered: 
One  rubbing  stone  (for  grinding  corn),  2  pear-shaped  flints,  9  flint 
hammerstones,  1  ax  head,  1  flint  scraper,  1  broken  hone  of  slate,  1 
flint  spearhead,  2  fossil  shells,  2  pieces  of  brick-like  pottery,  1  pot- 
tery disk,  3  small  beads,  and  1  shell. 

On  reaching  the  ground  level  of  hard  compact  earth,  it  was  found 
that  an  oblong  trench  had  been  cut  through  the  latter  down  to  the  lime- 
stone rock  beneath,  3  feet  in  breadth,  and  varying  from  2  to  4  feet  hi 
depth;  this  trench  had  been  filled  in  with  small  rubble.  In  its  inner 
wall,  at  the  north  side  of  the  quadrangle,  three  interments  had  been 
made  by  scooping  out  small  cists  in  the  earth,  depositing  the  remains 
therein,  and  filling  in  with  limestone  dust  and  rubble.  With  one  of 
these  burials  was  fomid  a  small  three-legged  pot,  of  rough,  unpolished 
pottery;  with  another,  a  vessel  in  the  form  of  a  quadruped,  7  inches 
in  length,  the  identity  of  which  is  difficult  to  determine;  and  with  the 
third  a  small  saucer-shaped  vessel  of  red  ware,  and  a  nearly  spherical 
vessel  of  dark  polished  red  ware.  Within  the  latter  were  discovered 
a  few  small  animal  bones,  some  fresh-water  snail  shells  (as  are  found 
at  the  present  day  in  the  neighboring  swamps  and  oaten  by  the 
Indians),  and  a  few  bivalve  shells.  It  seems  probable  that  this 
vessel  contained  food,  either  as  an  offering  to  the  gods  or  for  the  use 
of  the  deceased  in  his  passage  to  the  next  world.  It  is  not  uncom- 
mon to  find  considerable  accumulations  of  the  shells  of  conchs, 
cockles,  snails,  and  other  edible  shellfish,  with  the  bones  and  teeth  of 
deer,  tiger,  gibnut,  snake,  and  (along  the  seashore)  manatee,  in 
British  Honduras  mounds;  but  the  remains  of  food  offerings  con- 
tamed  within  a  vessel  are  of  rare  occurrence.1 

A  number  of  these  large  flat  mounds  containing  multiple  burials 
have  been  from  time  to  time  completely  dug  down  near  Corozal,  in 
order  to  obtain  stone  for  repairing  the  streets.  Beneath  nearly  all 
of  them  were  found  trenches  cut  through  the  earth  down  to  the 
subjacent  limestone.  These  trenches  varied  from  2  to  5  feet  in 
breadth ;  in  the  case  of  the  smaller  mounds  they  formed  a  parallelo- 
gram, a  triangle,  or  even  a  single  straight  line;  in  the  larger  mounds 
two  parallelograms  were  joined  by  parallel  trenches  (see  fig.  23 ) .  They 
were  invariably  filled  with  small  rubble,  and  a  few  of  them  contained 

1  Among  the  modern  Maya  Indians  of  this  area  food  is  no  longer  placed  with  the  dead,  but  every  Hanal 
pishan,  or  All  Souls'  Day,  tortillas,  posol,  meat,  and  other  foods  are  placed  upon  the  graves,  on  the  odor  of 
which  the  soul  of  the  departed  is  supposed  to  regale  itself.  Tozzer  mentions  the  custom  of  burying  food 
with  the  dead  as  still  practiced  by  the  modern  I.acandones. .  (See  Tozzer,  A  comparative  Study  of  the 
Mayas  and  the  I.acandones,  pp.  47-48.) 

See  also  Cogolludo,  op.  cit.,  Bk.  xn,  Chap,  vn,  p.  699:  "Al  rededor  le  ponen  mucha  vianda, 
una  xicara,  un  calaba^o  con  atole,  salvados  de  maiz,  y  unas  tortillas  grandes  de  lo  mismo,  que  nan 
llevado  juntamente  con  el  cuerpo,  y  assi  lo  cubren  despues  con  tierra." 


caxxI  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  127 

interments  in  their  walls.  The  purpose  of  these  trenches  is  difficult  to 
surmise,  as  they  could  hardly  have  served  as  foundations;  drainage 
was  unnecessary;  and,  while  the  trenches  themselves  were  never  em- 
ployed for  sepulchral  purposes,  it  is  only  occasionally  that  a  few 
burials  are  found  within  cists*  excavated  in  the  earth  along  their 
margins. 

Three  kinds  of  burial  seem  to  have  been  commonly  employed 
among  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  this  part  of  the  Maya  area.  The 
poorest  class  were  buried  in  large  flat  mounds,  some  of  them  a  half 
an  acre  in  extent  and  containing  as  many  as  40  to  50  interments. 
The  body  was  usually  buried  with  the  feet  drawn  under  the  pelvis, 
the  knees  flexed  on  the  abdomen,  the  arms  crossed  over  the  chest,  and 
the  face  pressed  down  on  the  knees;  the  position,  in  fact,  in  which  it 
would  occupy  the  smallest  possible  space.  With  the  remains  are  usu- 
ally found  a  few  objects  of  the  roughest  workmanship,  as  flint  hammer- 
stones,  scrapers,  and  spearheads,  pottery  or  shell  beads,  stone 
metates  and  henequen  scrapers,  small  obsidian  knives  and  cores, 
and  unglazed,  rough  pottery  vessels.  In  the  second  class  of  burials, 
each  individual  has  a  mound,  varying  from  2  to  30  feet  in  height,  to 
himself.  Several  mounds  of  this  class  have  already  been  described 
from  the  neighborhood  of  Corozal.  The  objects  found  with  inter- 
ments of  this  class  are  usually  more  numerous  and  of  better  workman- 
ship than  those  found  in  the  multiple  burial  mounds,  though  they 
do  not  show  much  greater  variety.  The  position  of  the  skeleton, 
whore  it  has  been  possible  to  ascertain  this,  is  usually  the  same  as  in 
the  multiple  burial  mounds;  occasionally,  however,  it  is  found  in  the 
prone  position,  and,  in  rare  instances,  buried  head  down.  The  third 
mode  of  burial  was  probably  reserved  for  priests,  caciques,  and  other 
important  individuals.  The  interment  took  place  in  a  stone  cist  or 
chamber,  within  a  large  mound,  varying  from  20  to  50  feet  in  height. 
The  skeleton  is  found  in  the  prone  position,  surrounded  by  well  painted 
and  decorated  vases,  together  with  beautiful  greenstone,  shell,  obsid- 
ian, and  mother-of-pearl  beads,  gorgets,  studs,  ear  plugs,  and  other 
ornaments.1  Some  of  these  mounds  contain  two  or  even  three  cham- 
bers or  cists,  superimposed  one  upon  the  other.  The  skeleton  is 
then  usually  found  in  the  top  cist,  the  accompanying  objects  being 
placed  in  the  lower  ones.  In  one  instance  partial  cremation  seemed 
to  have  been  practiced,  as  fragments  of  half-burned  human  bones 
were  found  in  a  largo  pottery  urn. 

1  This  practice  of  burying  with  the  dead  some  of  their  belongings  is  mentioned  bo*h  by  Landa  and  Villa- 
giil  icrre. 

"  Kntorravanlos  dontro  en  sus  casus  <>  a  his  espaldas  dellas,  echandoles  en  1 1  sepultura  alcunos  de  sus 
idolos,  y  : si  era  sacerdote  algunos  de  sus  libros,  y  si  hechizero  de  sus  piedras  <!<>  hechizos  y  pellrechos." — 
Landa,  op.  «*it . ,  p.  196. 

"Tenian  porcostumbreestos  Indies,  de  sepultar  loe  Dlfuntos  en  los  Campos,  a  corta  distancia  del  Pueblo, 
y  po  ier  sobro  las  Se|  i:ltrras  de  Ins  Varones  Manquitos,  I'uquletes,  y  otras  cosas  del  v  o  varonil;  y  sobro 
la-s  do  las  Mugcres,  i'icdras  <lc  moler,  Ollas,  Xic-aras,  y  otros  trastos  a  oste  modo."— Villagitikrrk.  op. 
nit.,  p.;il3. 


128 


BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY 

Mound  No.  31 


[BULL.  64 


Mound  No.  31  was  situated  close  to  the  Rio  Nuevo,  about  16  miles 
from  its  mouth,  in  the  northern  part  of  British  Honduras.  It  was  a 
somewhat  flattened  mound,  15  feet  in  height,  built  of  blocks  of  lime- 
stone, limestone  dust,  and  earth.  At*  a  depth  of  9  feet,  the  angle  of  a 
ruined  building,  formed  by  two  walls  averaging  2  feet  high,  intersect- 
ing at  right  angles,  and  built  of  squared  blocks  of  limestone,  was 


Fig.  73.— Pottery  vessels  found  in  Mound  No.  31. 

brought  to  light.  The  walls  enclosed  part  of  a  floor  of  smooth,  hard 
cement.  Numbers  of  blocks  of  squared  stone  were  found  throughout 
the  upper  part  of  the  mound,  which  had  evidently  at  one  time  formed 
part  of  the  ruined  building.  Resting  on  the  cement  floor,  close  to  the 
wall,  were  found  nine  pottery  vessels,  covered  with  limestone  dust. 
Five  of  these  were  of  the  type  shown  in  figure  73,  a,  of  dark-red,  rather 
coarse  pottery,  12  inches  in  diameter  at  the  rim.  One,  pictured  in 
figure  74,  is  the  usual  Maya  chocolate  pot,  similar  to  the  one  already 
described  (see  fig.  24,  g),  except  that  the  spout,  instead  of  bending 

inward  toward  the  vessel,  passes  directly 
upward  parallel  to  its  perpendicular  axis, 
an  arrangement  which  must  have  ren- 
dered it  far  easier  to  drink  from  the  ves- 
sel or  pour  fluid  out  of  it.  The  three 
other  vessels  found  are  illustrated  in  fig- 
ures 73,  b,  c,  and  d;  b  is  of  polished  choco- 
late-brown pottery,  3  inches  in  diameter 
by  5  inches  in  height;  c  is  of  thick  red 
pottery,  3  inches  high,  with  two  small 
handles  for  suspension,  one  on  each  side; 
d  is  of  coarse  polished  red  ware,  unusually  thick  and  clumsy,  12 
inches  high  by  8  inches  in  diameter.  Each  of  these  vessels  con- 
tained a  single  small  polished  greenstone  bead.  No  other  objects 
were  found  associated  with  them,  and  there  was  no  trace  of  human 
bones.  Excavations  were  made  in  this  mound  to  the  ground  level 
without  results.  The  lower  part  of  the  mound  was  built  of  large 
blocks  of  limestone  and  rubble,  held  loosely  together  with  friable 
mortar. 


Fig.    74. — Chocolate    pot   found    in 
Mound  No.  31. 


GANN] 


MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


129 


Mound  No.  32 

Mound  No.  32  was  situated  quite  closo  to  No.  31,  which  it  Very 
closely  resembled  in  both  size  and  construction.  At  a  depth  of 
9  feet  the  end  of  a  small  building  constructed  of  squared  blocks  of 
limestone  was  brought  to  light.  The  walls  wore  still  standing  to  a 
height  of  2  to  3  feet,  and  showed  traces  of  a  red  stucco  covering  on 
their  inner  surfaces.  The  cement  floor  of  the  building  and  the  plat- 
form upon  which  it  stood  could  also  be  traced.  Lying  upon  this 
floor  wore  five  pottery  vessels  and  an  unfinished  flint  celt.  Two 
of  these  vessels  were  precisely  similar  to  that  shown  in  figure  73,  a; 
one  is  a  largo,  circular,  shallow  plaque,  of  rather  thick  reddish-brown 
pottery,  in  tho  center  of  which  a  small  hole  has  been  made,  evidently 
with  the  object  of  rendering  the  plaque  useless.  The  last  two  vessels 
are  illustrated  in  figure  75,  a,  b.  A  is  an  unusually  large  vessel  of  very 
coarse,  thick,  red  pottery,  18  inches  high,  which  had  probably  been 


1/^i 


tig. 


-Pottery  vessels  found  in  Mound  No.  M 


used  to  contain  corn  or  some  such  dry  material,  as  tho  pottery  was 
too  friable  and  soft  for  a  cooking  pot,  or  even  to  hold  water.  B  is  a 
small  three-legged  vase,  4  inches  high,  of  coarse,  unpaintod  pottery. 
Each  of  these  five  vessels,  with  the  exception  of  tho  plaque,  contained 
a  single  polished  greenstone  bead.  Tho  celt  was  roughly  blocked  out 
of  yellowish  flint.  No  objects  except  those  above  described  were  found 
with  these  vessels,  nor  were  there  any  traces  of  human  burial.  Exca- 
vations were  made  in  the  mound  to  the  ground  level,  and  it  was  found 
to  bo  composed  below  the  platfonn  upon  which  tho  building  stood  of 
a  solid  mass  of  rubble  and  limestone  held  together  by  loose,  friable 
mortar.  There  are  numerous  groups  of  mounds  of  all  sizes  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  judging  by  these,  and  by  tho  potsherds  and  flint 
and  obsidian  chips  which  one  finds  strewn  over  the  surface  of  the 
soil  in  great  profusion,  it  must  have  been  a  donsely  populated  region 
70SO60— IS— Bull.  <i4 9 


130 


BUREAU    OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY 


[  BULL.  64 


Fig.  76.— Head  cut  from  limestone  found  in 
Mound  No.  32. 


at  ono  time.  Tho  two  life-size  hum  an.  heads  shown,  infigures  76  and  77 
were  found  close  to  these  two  mounds  in  digging  a  posthole.  Fig- 
ure 76  represents  a  grotesque  head  cut  from  a  solid  block  of  crystal- 
line limestone.  Figure  77  is  a  mask, 
rather  crudely  cut  from  greenstone  and 
unpolished.  Both  were  buried  in  tho 
marl  and  wore  unaccompanied  by  other 
objocts. 

Mound  No.  33 


Mound  No.  33  was  situated  near 
Bacalar,  in  the  Province  of  Quintana 
Roo,  Mexico.  It  was  6  feet  in  height 
by  20  feet  in  diameter,  and  was  built 
of  blocks  of  limestone,  limestone  dust, 
and  earth.  Near  the  summit  of  this 
mound,  close  to  the  surface,  was  found 
the  small  soapstone  lamp  illustrated 
in  figure  78,  4 J  inches  in  length. by  If 
inches  in  depth.  The  lamp  is  deco- 
rated in  front  with  a  floral  design, 
and  at  the  back  by  wing  or  feather-like  ornaments,  possibly  meant 
to  represent  the  tail  and  half -folded  wings  of  a  bird.  It  is  finely 
polished  throughout  but  had  probably  never  been  used,  as  in  hol- 
lowing out  the  interior  the  maker  had  carried  one  of  his  strokes  too 
close  to  the  surface,  making  a  small  hole,  which  would  have  allowed 
the  oil  to  escape.  There  is  a 
freedom  and  lack  of  convention- 
ality, both  in  the  pleasing  and 
natural  floral  design  and  in  the 
flowing  lines  of  the  back  part  of 
this  little  lamp,  which  are  to- 
tally unlike  the  cramped  and 
highly  conventional  style  to  be 
observed  in  similar  small  objects 
of  ancient  Maya  manufacture. 
So  widely  does  it  differ  from 
Maya  standards  that  there 
can  be  but  little  doubt  that  it 
was  introduced  in  post-Colum- 
bian days,  probably  very  soon 
after  the  conquest,  especially  as  in  the  same  mound  was  found  one 
of  the  small  painted  clay  figurines  so  common  in  mounds  in  this 
neighborhood,  which  with    the   censers   probably  belonged   to    the 


Fig.  77. — Greenstone  mask  found  in  Mound  No.  32. 


gaxx]         MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  131 

latest  period  of  Maya  culture.  Another  explanation  which  suggests 
itself  is  that  the  lamp  was  buried  in  the  mound  at  a  much  later 
date  (possibly  during  the  troublous  times  of  the  Indian  rebellions, 
between  1840  and  1850)  by  someone  who  wished  to  hide  it  tem- 
porarily, and  that  it  had  no  connection  with  the  original  purpose 
of  the  mound.  No  other  objects  were  found  in  this  mound,  with 
the  exception  of  a  number  of  potsherds,  till  the  ground  level  was 
reached,  where,  near  the  center  of  the  mound,  the  painted  clay  figur- 
ine shown  in  plate  22  was  uncovered.  This  represents  a  deer  with  a 
human  head,  whose  headdress  is  the  upper  jaw  of  some  mythological 
animal.  The  back  of  the  figure,  which  is  hollow,  contains  a  small  open- 
ing near  the  tail,  covered  with  a  conical  plug  of  clay.     Within  were 


Fig.  78.— Soapstone  lamp  found  in  Mound  No.  33. 

two  small  beads,  one  of  polished  red  shell,  the  other  of  polished  green- 
stone. The  whole  figurine  had  been  coated  with  lime  wash,  over 
which  were  painted  black  lines,  dots,  and  circles.1  The  human  face, 
earrings,  gorget,  and  part  of  the  headdress  are  painted  blue,  while 
the  mouth  of  both  the  human  face  and  the  face  in  the  headdress  are 
painted  red.  Near  the  figurine  lay  a  vessel  (fig.  79)  of  rough  yellow 
pottery,  unpainted  and  undecorated,  with  two  small  ear-like  projec- 
tions just  below  the  rim.  No  bones  and  no  trace  of  human  burial 
wore  found  in  the  mound. 

1  This  white  lime  wash,  applied  evenly  to  the  entire  surface,  over  which  other  colors  were  afterward 
painted,  seems  to  have  been  used  on  all  the  more  elaborate  incensarios  and  on  nearly  all  the  clay  flpurinos 
It  is  still  employed  by  the  modem  Lacandones  in  the  manufacture  of  their  brasrros.  (See  Tozzer,  A 
comparative  study  of  the  Mayas  and  the  Lacandones,  p.  109.) 


132 


BUREAU    OF   AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


[BULL.  64 


Fig.  79.— Rough 
vessel  found  i 
No.  33. 


pottery 
Mound 


Mound  No.  34 

Mound  No.  34,  situated  near  Progreso,  in  the  northern  district  of 
British  Honduras,  was  5  feet  in  height,  roughly  circular,  and  about  20 
feet  in  diameter  at  the  base.  The  mound  was  built  throughout  of 
rough  blocks  of  limestone,  rubble,  and  earth.  At  the  ground  level, 
about  the  center  of  the  mound,  were  found  large  flat  unworked  flags, 
which  seemed  to  have  formed  the  roof  of  a  small  cist  that  had  caved 
in.  Beneath  these  were  found  a  few  fragments 
of  bone,  which  crumbled  away  as  they  were  being 
removed,  with  a  small  spherical  vase,  of  rough 
unpainted  pottery,  1J  inches  in  diameter  (pi. 
21,  a).  This  was  decorated  on  the  outside  with 
a  human  head  wearing  a  peaked  headdress,  some- 
what resembling  the  cap  of  liberty,  and  large  circu- 
lar ear  plugs  in  the  ears.  Below  the  head  pro- 
jected a  pair  of  arms  with  the  hands  clasped  in 
front,  supporting  between  them  a  small  pottery 
ball.  Within  this  little  vase,  which  was  filled 
with  earth  and  limestone  dust,  were  found:  (a) 
A  small  earthenware  bead  (fig.  80,  a),  (b)  A 
small,  very  delicate  obsidian  knife,  the  tip  of  which  is  broken 
off,  but  which  otherwise  shows  hardly  any  signs  of  use  (fig.  80,  &).  (c) 
The  terminal  phalanx  of  a  small  and  delicate  finger,  in  a  very  fair 
state  of  preservation  (fig.  80,  c).  The  burial  of  a  terminal  phalanx  of 
one  of  the  fingers  of  the  mother,  with  a  favorite  child,  is  not  an  un- 
known custom  among  semicivilized  peoples,  and  it  is  possible  that 
this  little  mound  contains  such  an  interment.  The  bones  of  the  child 
being  fragile  and  deficient  in  calcareous 
matter,  may  well  have  almost  disap- 
peared, while  the  finger  bone  of  the 
mother,  being  of  more  compact  bony  tis- 
sue, and  protected  to  some  extent  by  the 
vase  in  which  it  lay,  has  been  preserved. 
The  crudeness  of  the  modeling  of  the  little 
vase  and  of  the  face  and  arms  thereon 
would  suggest  that  it  may  have  been  a 
plaything  of  the  child  during  life,  and 
even  perhaps  may  have  been  modeled  by  its  own  hands.  The 
obsidian  knife  may  have  been  used  by  the  mother  to  separate  the  bone 
at  the  last  finger  joint.  The  little  figure  which  decorates  the  outside 
of  this  vase  closely  resembles  those  curious  figures  in  a  diving  position, 
with  arms  pointed  downward  and  feet  upward,  which  are  not  uncom- 
mon in  this  area.  Figure  81  shows  one  represented  on  the  outside 
of  a  small  vase;  several  are  to  be  found,  molded  in  stucco,  on  the 


Fig. 


-Objects  found  in  Mound  No. 34. 


GaKnI         MAYA  INDIANS  OP  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  133 

ruined  buildings  of  Tuluum,  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Yucatan,  just 
below  the  island  of  Cozumel,  and  they  are  occasionally,  though  rarely, 
found  decorating  pottery  incense  burners,  instead  of  the  commoner 
representations  of  the  Gods  ltzamna  and  Cuculcan.  Neither  Landa, 
Vdlagutierre,  nor  Cogolludo  mention  the  custom  as  practiced  by 
Maya  mothers  or  relatives  on  the  deaths  of  their  children.  Had  it 
been  prevalent  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  it  seems  hardly  possible 
that  such  a  practice  could  have  escaped  their  notice;  on  the  other 
hand,  if  the  solitary  phalanx  had  not  been  buried  with  the  dead  as  a 
memorial,  its  presence  under  these  circumstances  is  very  difficult  to 
explain. 

In  nearly  all  extensive  groups  of  mounds  one  or  more  middens, 
or  refuse  mounds,  are  to  be  found.  The  four  mounds  next  described, 
though  varying  much  from  one 
another,  are  all  distinctly  of  this 
type. 

Mound  No.  35 


Mound  No.  35  was  situated 
near  the  Cayo,  on  the  Mopan 
River;  it  forms  one  of  a  group 
of  about  30  mounds  scattered 
over  a  considerable  area.  It 
was  12  feet  in  height  and 
seemingly  had  been  about  30 
feet  in  diameter,  but  situated 
as  it  was,  immediately  on 
the  river  bank,  nearly  half 
of  it  had  been  washed  away 
by  the  floods  of  successive 
rainy  seasons,  leaving  a  clean 

.  ,  iii  Fia.  81.— Figure  in  diving  position  on  small  vase. 

section     almost    through    the 

center  of  the  mound,  very  favorable  for  observing  its  construction. 
The. lowest  layer,  1  to  2  inches  in  thickness,  resting  on  the  ground 
level,  was  composed  of  ashes  mixed  with  fragments  of  charcoal; 
above  this  was  a  layer  of  earth  and  stones  about  1  foot  in  thick- 
ness, and  above  this  a  further  layer  of  ashes;  and  so  on  to  the 
top  of  the  mound — strata  of  ashes  averaging  2  inches  thick  alter- 
nating with  strata  of  earth  averaging  about  1  foot.  No  objects 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  potsherds  were  found  in  the  earth 
layers,  but  the  layers  of  ashes  were  rich  in  flint  and  obsidian 
chips,  fragments  of  conch  and  snail  shells,  clay  beads  and  mala- 
cates,  potsherds  in  great  variety  and  abundance,  with  the  bones 
of  the  deer,  gibnut,  and  peccary.  It  would  seem  that  this  mound 
had  formed  a  sort  of  kitchen  midden;  that  when  a  certain  amount 


134  BUREAU    OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  T bull.  64 

of  refuse  had  been  deposited  it  was  covered  with  a  layer  of  earth, 
and  that  the  mound  must  have  been  in  use  for  a  considerable 
time  to  have  reached  its  present  height. 

Small  mounds  containing  considerable  quantities  of  ashes  and 
charcoal  mixed  with  earth  and  stones,  together  with  refuse  material, 
as  flint  and  obsidian  chips,  broken  implements,  potsherds,  bones, 
shells,  clay  beads  and  malacates,  and  similar  indestructible  objects,  are 
not  of  infrequent  occurrence,  and  probably  mark  the  sites  of  ancient 
kitchen  middens.  Two  such  mounds  were  found  on  the  mainland,  south 
of  the  island  of  Tamalcab,  in  Chetumal  Bay,  Yucatan,  situated  in  what 
seemingly  had  been  a  village  site,  occupying  an  area  of  approximately 
20  acres.  Great  numbers  of  potsherds,  fragments  of  pottery,  images, 
beads,  malacates,  chips  and  broken  implements  of  stone  and  obsidian, 
broken  metates,  fragments  of  conch  and  cockle  shells,  stone  water- 
troughs,  and  other  indestructible  rubbish  were  found  scattered  in 
great  profusion  over  the  whole  of  this  site. 

Mound  No.  36 

Mound  No.  36  was  situated  at  Sarteneja,  in  the  northern  district 
of  British  Honduras,  quite  close  to  the  seashore.  This  mound  was 
2  feet  6  inches  in  height,  about  12  feet  in  diameter;  it  was  composed 
throughout  of  conch  shells  mingled  with  cockle  and  whelklike  shells. 
Nothing  except  the  shells  was  found  in  this  mound,  which  forms  one 
of  a  group  of  similar  mounds,  evidently  dumping  places  used  by 
each  house,  for  the  disposal  of  the  shells  of  shellfish  brought  in  from 
the  reef  by  the  fishermen  after  the  fish  had  been  extracted  and  eaten. 

Mound  No.  37 

Mound  No.  37,  situated  close  to  the  next  preceding  mound 
on  the  seashore,  at  Sarteneja,  is  about  2  feet  high  by  12  to  15  feet  in 
diameter.  It  is  composed  almost  entirely  of  fragments  of  rather 
rough  unpainted  pottery  and  seemingly  marks  the  site  of  a  manu- 
factory of  this  class  of  ware,  as  great  quantities  of  fragments  are  also 
to  be  found  scattered  in  all  directions  around  the  mound.  A  small 
quantity  of  earth  was  mingled  with  the  potsherds,  but  nothing  else 
was  found  in  the  mound. 

Mound  No.  38 

Mound  No.  38,  situated  about  5  miles  from  Corozal,  in  the  northern 
district  of  British  Honduras,  was  6  feet  in  height  by  15  feet  in  diame- 
ter, with  a  flattened  top.  It  was  covered  with  a  layer  of  humus  and 
contained  nothing  but  fragments  of  weathered  stone,  of  sizes  varying 


oann]         MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


135 


from  small  rubble  to  blocks  weighing  30  to  40  pounds.  Similar 
mounds  are  found  elsewhere  and  are  apparently  merely  heaps  of 
stones,  which  have  been  picked  up  on  the  surface  of  the  fields,  as,  un- 
like other  mounds,  they  contain  no  clay,  limestone,  or  marl  dust,  mor- 
tar, or  other  binding  material  and 
no  trace  of  burials  or  any  object 
of  human  construction. 


t  M 


Mound  No.  39 

Mound  No.  39  was  situated  on 
Wild  Cane  Cay,  a  small  island  off 
the  southern  coast  of  British  Hon- 
duras. The  island  seems  to  have 
been  built  up  with  stone  and  other 
material  brought  from  the  main- 
land and  to  have  been  used  as 
a  burial  place.  Several  small 
mounds  are  scattered  over  the  face 
of  tho  island;  unfortunately  most 
of  them  had  been  dug  down  for  tho 
sake  of  the  stone  they  contained 
and  the  objects  from  tho  graves 
lest  or  given  away.  Those  which 
could  be  traced  consisted  chiefly 
of  copper  ornaments,  as  rings,  gor- 
gets, and  studs.  Mound  No.  39, 
tho  only  one  whoso  contents  were 
ascertained  with  any  degree  of  ac- 
curacy, was  a  small  circular  mound 
10  feet  high,  built  of  sand  and 
blocks  of  reef  stone ;  near  the  ground 
level,  about  the  center  of  the 
mound,  a  single  human  interment 
was  found,  the  bones  of  which  wore  in  an  advanced  state  of  decay; 
mingled  with  theso  were:  (a)  A  round  rod  earthenware  pot,  con- 
taining a  few  small  circular  beads  made  from  conch  shell  and  five 
or  six  medium-sized,  unused  obsidian  knives,  (b)  A  second  some- 
what larger  pot,  of  tho  same  shape  and  material,  which  contained 
the  upper  part  of  the  femur  of  a  doer,  on  which  is  incised  tho  design 
shown  in  figure  82.  This  is  neatly  executed  in  shallow  lines: 
tho  upper  part  evidently  represents  a  tiger,  or  tho  skin  of  that 
animal,  and  is  separated  by  a  platted  design  from  the  lower,  which 
may  be  intended  as  a  representation  of  the  God  Itzamna.     With 


Fig.  82.— Design  incised  on  femur  of  deer  found 
in  Mound  No.  39. 


136  BUREAU   OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bdij,.  64 

the  bone  were  two  objects  of,  copper,  one  a  finger  ring  constructed 
of  thin  flat  bands  two-fifths  inch  apart,  joined  by  double  scrolls; 
this  is  very  much  worn,  either  from  use  or  from  oxidization,  conse- 
quent on  long  exposure  in  the  damp  soil.  The  second  copper 
object  (fig.  83)  was  probably  used  as  a  gorget,  or  for  attachment  to 
a  headdress,  as  at  the  back  is  seen  a  cruciform  grille,  evidently 
intended  to  hold  it  in  place.  This  object  is  in  the  form  of  a  human 
face,  the  lower  part  with  its  large  mouth,  thick  prominent  lips,  and 
flattened  nose,  exhibiting  marked  negroid  characteristics,  which 
the  upper  part  with  its  bulging  prominent  forehead  contradicts. 
The  headdress  is  ornamented  with  three  spikes  passing  along  the 
sagittal  suture  from  front  to  back,  while  under  the  chin  is  a  projec- 
tion probably  intended  to  represent  a  short  beard.  The  ring  and 
ornament  are  both  strongly  suggestive  of  Spanish  influence,  as  the 
face  with  its  thick  lips,  flattened  nose,  and  bulging 
forehead  is  totally  unlike  any  type  with  which  the 
Maya  were  likely  to  come  in  contact,  unless,  indeed, 
it  were  the  Carib,  who  even  at  this  early  date  had 
possibly  formed  small  settlements  as  far  north  as  the 
southern  coast  of  British  Honduras.  If  the  objects 
were  of  Spanish  origin  they  were  probably  obtained 
from  some  Spanish  settlement  farther  north,  possibly 
Bakhalal,  as  there  was  no  settlement  between  that 
town  and  the  coast  of  Guatemala  till  many  years  after 
the  conquest.  That  the  cult  of  Itzamna  was  still  flour- 
fig.  83.— copper  ob-  ishing  is  shown  by  the  effigy  of  the  god  incised  on  the 
joctfoundin Mound  deer  bone,  and  according  to  Villagutierre,  the  In- 
dians of  this  neighborhood  up  to  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century  were  closely  allied  to  the  Itzaex,1  who  still 
freely  practiced  their  ancient  religious  rites. 

Mound  No.  40 

Mound  No.  40,  situated  near  Pueblo  Nuevo,  on  the  Rio  Hondo, 
consisted  of  a  ridge  about  10  feet  high  by  40  feet  in  length.  On  the 
summit  of  the  ridge  near  its  center,  covered  only  by  a  layer  of  humus, 
was  found  a  small  rough  three-legged  vase  3  inches  high,  contain- 
ing a  single  long,  polished,  greenstone  bead.  The  upper  part  of 
the  ridge  was  found  to  consist  of  blocks  of  limestone,  limestone  dust, 
and  rubble,  on  removing  which  to  a  depth  of  about  4  feet  the  ruins 
of  a  building  were  brought  to  light  (fig.  84).  The  bones  were  in  so 
poor  a  state  of  preservation  that  it  was  difficult  to  determine  the  exact 

1  Speaking  of  the  boundaries  of  the  territory  of  the  Itzaex,.  Villagutierre  (op.  cit.,  p.  489),  gives  the  sea 
as  its  eastern  limit.  All  the  tribes  between  the  lagoon  of  Itza  and  the  sea  were  evidently  not  subject  to 
the  Itzaex,  however,  as  he  mentions  (Lib.  IX,  cap.  m,  p.  554)  a  number  of  tribes  inhabiting  this  area  writh 
whom  they  were  at  war,  and  states  (Lib.  vi,  Cap.  iv  p.  352)  that  the  Mopanes  and  Tipu  Indians  were  not 
subject  to  the  Canek  of  Itza. 


gann] 


MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS 


137 


position  in  which  the  body  had  been  placed  at  the  time  of  burial;  it 
had,  however,  certainly  been  fully  extended.  Close  to  the  head  were 
found  fragments  of  three  round  bowls,  all  precisely  similar  in  both 
size  and  coloring.  Each  was  of  the  shape  shown  in  figure  71 ,  b,  Sh  inches 
high  by  6^  inches  in  diameter,  and  was  made  of  rather  fine  ash- 
colored  pottery,  finely  polished.  Each  of  these  bowls  before  burial 
had  had  the  bottom  knocked  out.  The  mound  beneath  the  building 
was  composed  of  blocks  of  limestone,  rubble,  and  limestone  dust, 
forming  a  tough,  solid,  compact  mass.  This  would  seem  to  have  been 
a  small  private  house,  not  a  temple,  which  (probably  on  account  of  the 
death  of  its  owner)  had  been  deliberately  wrecked,  and  the  owner's 
body  buried  beneath  the  cement  floor  of  the  one  chamber  remaining 
partially  intact.     Fresh  cement  seems  to  have  been  applied  over  the 


Fig.  84.— Ruins  found  in  Mound  No.  40.  These  consisted  of  broken-down  wails  about  2  feet  high,  joining 
each  other  at  right  angles.  Of  the  wall  A-B,  10  feet  remained  standing;  of  the  wall  B-C,  8  feet.  The 
shaded  space  included  between  the  walls  was  covered  with  hard  smooth  cement,  which  had  been 
broken  away  to  a  rough  edge  at  its  outer  border  and  was  continuous  at  its  inner  border  with  the  stucco 
which  was  still  partly  adherent  to  the  walls.  The  walls  themselves  were  built  of  blocks  of  limestone 
(squared  on  their  outer  surfaces  but  rough  within),  rubble,  and  mortar;  they  were  nearly  2  feet  thick. 
The  long  diameter  of  the  ridge  pointed  almost  due  east  and  west.  An  excavation  was  made  in  the 
cement  floor,  and  at  the  depth  of  18  inches,  at  the  point  marked  D,  a  single  interment  was  brought  to 
light. 

grave  before  the  greater  part  of  the  house  was  pulled  down  and  the 
wreckage  piled  up,  to  form  a  capping  to  the  mound  upon  which  the 
house  stood. 

Mound  No.  41 

Mound  No.  41  was  situated  in  the  northern  district  of  British  Hon- 
duras, about  9  miles  from  Corozal.  It  consisted  of  a  circular  wall  or 
rampart  varying  from  4  to  10  feet  in  height,  inclosing  a  spare  30 
yards  in  diameter.  The  wall  was  built  of  earth  and  blocks  of  lime- 
stone, and  in  places  had  become  considerably  flattened  out  from  the 
action  of  the  heavy  tropical  rains  of  this  region.  To  the  north  an 
opening  or  gap  existed  about  10  yards  across.  Excavations  were 
made  in  the  encircling  wall  of  the  inclosure,  and  also  in  the  central 
space,  but  nothing  except  fragments  of  pottery  was  discovered. 


138  BUKEAU   OP  AMEBICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64 

Mounds  of  this  kind  are  found  throughout  the  area,  though  not  in 
great  numbers.  Some  of  these  are  circular  or  horseshoe  shaped,  some 
crescentic,  and  others  curved  or  even  straight  ridges.  As  a  rule 
they  contain  nothing  except  a  few  potsherds,  which  would  natu- 
rally be  picked  up  with  the  earth  of  which  most  of  them  are  made; 
in  some,  however  (especially  in  the  straight  ridges),  superficial  inter- 
ments have  been  found.  These  mounds  were  probably  used  as  forti- 
fications, the  circular,  horseshoe-shaped,  and  crescentic  mounds 
being  particularly  well  adapted  to  this  purpose. 

At  Yalloch,  just  across  the  Guatemala  boundary  line  from  Choro, 
a  small  village  in  the  western  district  of  British  Honduras,  the 
Alcalde  made  a  remarkable  discovery  a  few  years  ago.  While  hunt- 
ing for  a  gibnut  he  traced  one  to  a  hole  in  the  ground;  on  poking  a 
stick  into  this  hole,  he  was  astonished  on  withdrawing  it  to  find  that 
he  had  brought  out  on  its  end  a  small  painted  pottery  cylinder. 
The  hole  on  being  enlarged  proved  to  be  the  entrance  to  a  chultun, 
one  of  those  curious  underground  chambers  cut  in  the  limestone  rock 
found  throughout  Yucatan  and  the  northern  part  of  British  Hon- 
duras, especially  in  the  neighborhood  of  ruins.  This  chultun  con- 
tained numbers  of  fragments  of  very  finely  painted  and  decorated 
pottery  vases,  together  with  two  complete  cylindrical  vases,  an  ovoid 
vase,  and  a  pottery  cylinder  without  bottom.  Some  of  these  were 
within  the  chultun,  some  in  a  pit  sunk  in  its  floor,  from  which  at  a 
later  date  several  pieces  of  beautifully  decorated  potter}?-  were  taken. 
The  pit  had  evidently  been  used  as  a  burial  place,  in  which  the 
memorial  pottery  was  deposited  with  the  body.  Merwin  found 
similar  painted  Maya  vases  some  years  later  in  a  chamber  covered 
by  a  mound,  at  Holmul,  within  a  few  miles  of  Yalloch,  and  at  Platon, 
on  the  Mopan  River,  a  sepulchral  chultun  was  cleared  out  in  which 
human  bones  still  remained.    (Pis.  23-28.) 

Near  the  point  where  Blue  Creek  or  Rio  Azul  joins  the  Rio  Hondo, 
in  the  northern  district  of  British  Honduras,  is  situated  in  the  bush 
about  100  yards  from  the  latter  river  a  small  circular  lagoon,  of  a 
deep  blue  color  and  considerable  depth;  from  this  flows  a  narrow 
stream,  also  deep  blue  in  color  and  highly  impregnated  with  copper, 
which  opens  into  the  main  river  just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Rio 
Azul.  The  little  lake  is  bounded  on  its  eastern  side  by  an  almost 
perpendicular  cliff  of  limestone,  in  which  are  several  small  caves 
and  one  large  cave.  The  interior  of  one  of  the  smallest  of  these 
caverns,  situated  near  the  base  of  the  cliff,  not  more  than  a  few 
yards  in  depth,  was  roughly  hewn  out  so  as  to  form  shelves.  Upon 
these  were  found  several  hundred  small  binequins  of  incense,  vary- 
ing in  size  from  3  to  4  inches  in  length  by  1^  to  2  inches  in 
breadth,  to  8  to  10  inches  in  length  by  3  to  4  inches  in  breadth. 
The  incense  was  composed  of  the  gum  of  the  white  acacia  mixed 


oannI         MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS  139 

with  various  aromatic  substances;  when  burned  it  gave  off  a  very 
pleasant  odor.  The  gum  had  evidently  been  poured  while  in  a 
liquid  state  into  small  bags,  made  of  palm  leaves,  as  in  some  of 
the  binequins  considerable  fragments  of  the  palm  leaves  were  still 
adherent  to  the  copal,  and  in  all,  casts  of  the  leaves  were  left  on  the 
soft  surface  of  the  gum  before  it  solidified.  The  binequins  which  the 
present-day  Maya  Indians  manufacture  as  receptacles  for  their  home- 
made lime,  though  vastly  larger,  are  precisely  similar  in  shape,  con- 
struction, and  appearance  to  those  their  ancestors  used  as  recep- 
tacles for  copal.  The  entrance  to  the  large  cave  was  near  the  sum- 
mit of  the  cliff  and  so  difficult  to  reach  that  it  can  never  have  been 
long  used  as  a  place  of  residence,  though  it  would  form  an  exceed- 
ingly strong  position  to  hold  against  an  attack  from  without,  as  it 
is  necessary  to  cross  a  fallen  tree  trunk  in  order  to  enter,  and  this 
might  easily  bo  hauled  back  into  the  cave  or  pushed  away  from 
its  mouth,  leaving  it  practically  inaccessible.  Nothing  was  found 
in  the  cave  except  a  large  quantity  of  bats'  excrement  and  of 
rough  red  potsherds. 


TWO  PAINTED  STUCCO  FACES  FROM  UXMAL 

Two  human  faces  molded  in  stucco  and  painted  were  discov- 
ered in  a  small  stone-lined  chamber  situated  beneath  one  of  the 
end  rooms  of  the  Casa  del  Gobernador  in  the  ruins  of  Uxmal,  north- 
ern Yucatan.  The  room  was  accidentally  disclosed  by  the  caving 
in  of  a  small  part  of  its  roof.  One  of  its  walls  was  covered,  above  a 
stone  cornice,  by  a  frieze  of  hieroglyphs,  and  against  this  wall  stood 
a  small  square  stone  altar,  each  side  of  which  had  been  decorated 
with  a  human  figure  molded  in  stucco  and  painted.  Unfortunately 
these  figures  had  fallen;  the  two  heads  here  described  are  the  best 
preserved  parts  of  them  which  remain.  Describing  the  sculpture  in 
stone  which  adorns  the  outside  of  the  Casa  del  Gobernador,  Stevens 
ventures  the  opinion  that  some  of  the  heads  were  portraits  of  cele- 
brated men  of  the  period. 

The  discovery  of  this  chamber  is  extremely  interesting,  as  it  opens 
up  the  possibility  that  many,  if  not  all,  of  these  vast  substructures, 
built  apparently  of  solid  stone,  which  throughout  Yucatan  support 
more  or  less  ruined  buildings,  may  in  fact  be  honeycombed  with 
chambers.  Stevens  first  suggests  the  possibility  of  this.  Unfortu- 
nately since  Stevens's  day  little  or  nothing  has  been  done  throughout 
Yucatan  in  the  way  of  excavation  to  verify  the  truth  of  his  surmise. 

Of  the  two  heads  now  described,  one  probably  represents  a  male, 
the  other  a  female;  there  is,  moreover,  a  marked  individuality  about 
each  of  them  which  renders  it  extremely  probable  that  they  are 
portraits,  possibly  of  some  "Halach  Uinic"  (real  man,  or  chief)  of 
Uxmal  and  his  wife,  during  the  palmy  days  of  the  triple  alliance. 

Each  face  is  painted  black  with  white  circles  round  the  orbital 
margin,  red  rims  to  the  eyes,  and  brick-red  oval  patches  at  either 
angle  of  the  mouth.  The  center  of  each  upper  lip  is  decorated  by 
a  figure  8  shaped  labret,  the  lower  portion  of  which  has  been  broken 
away  in  the  male  head.  Over  the  bridge  of  each  nose  is  a  curious 
ornament  consisting  of  a  small  oblong  object  with  rounded  corners, 
held  in  place  by  a  loop  passing  down  the  median  line  of  the  bridge. 
Over  the  center  of  the  forehead  in  both  faces  hangs  a  pendant,  that 
of  the  male  composed  of  four  small  round  beads,  that  of  the  female 
appearing  as  a  rounded  comblike  excrescence.  Traces  of  the  head- 
dresses remain  as  a  few  feathers  above  each  forehead.  Both  heads 
were  probably  held  within  widely  distended  animal  jaws,  as  a  part 
of  the  lower  jaw  is  seen  below  the  chin  in  the  male  head,  where  also 
140 


[bull.  64,  ga^tn]  MAYA  INDIANS  OF  YUCATAN  AND  BRITISH  HONDURAS     141 

the  large  circular  red  ear  plug  still  remains  on  the  right  side.  The 
measurements  of  the  faces  are  as  follows: 

Male. — Top  of  headdress  to  bottom  of  lower  jaw  of  animal  head 
holding  the  face,  11  tV  inches;  top  of  headdress  to  bottom  of  chin, 
9n7  inches;  forehead  below  headdress,  to  bottom  of  chin,  8xV  inches; 
extreme  breadth  of  face  (midway  between  a  transverse  line  passing 
through  the  pupils  and  one  passing  immediately  beneath  the  lower 
margin  of  the  nasal  septum),  7tV  inches;  extreme  breadth  at  level 
of  the  pupils,  7  inches;  length  of  nose,  2-fo  inches;  breadth  of  nose, 
lyfr  inches.  »  . 

Female. — Top  of  headdress  to  bottom  of  chin,  10^%  inches;  fore- 
head below  headdress  to  bottom  of  chin,  8-fV  inches;  greatest  breadth 
of  face,  at  same  level  as  the  male,  7TV  inches;  greatest  breadth  at 
the  level  of  eyes,  7-fo  inches;  length  of  nose,  2TV  inches;  breadth  of 
nose,  1^5  inches. 

The  city  of  Uxmal  belongs  to  the  later,  or  northern  Maya,  civili- 
zation. Unlike  the  earlier  southern  cities,  Uxmal  is  without  a  single 
initial  series  date  by  which  its  age  might  be  approximately  deter- 
mined. It  was  founded  by  Achuitok  Tutulxu,  probably  about  the 
year  1000  of  the  Christian  era.  In  the  "  Series  of  Katuns  from  the 
Book  of  Chilam  Balam  of  Mani"  the  date  given  is  Katun  2  Ahau, 
whereas  in  that  from  Tizimin  it  is  recorded  as  having  taken  place 
180  years  later.1  The  cities  of  Uxmal,  Chichen  Itza,  and  Mayapan 
formed  a  triple  alliance,  which  lasted  for  nearly  200  years,  during 
probably  the  most  prosperous  period  of  the  whole  Maya  rule  in 
Yucatan.  After  the  disruption  of  this  alliance,  caused  by  a  quarrel 
between  the  rulers  of  Chichen  Itza  and  Mayapan,  Uxmal  gradually 
declined  in  prosperity,  till  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  its  temples  and 
palaces  seem  to  have  been  completely  abandoned.  The  city  was 
visited  in  1586  by  the  Franciscan  delegate  Alonzo  Ponce,  one  of 
whose  companions  gives  an  interesting  account  of  the  ruins.  De- 
scribing the  house  of  the  governor,  he  says: 

Besides  these  four  buildings  there  is  on  the  south  of  them,  distant  from  them  about 
an  arquebus  shot,  another  very  large  building  built  on  a  "Mul "  or  hill  made  by  hand, 
with  abundance  of  buttresses  on  the  corners  made  of  massive  carved  stones.  The 
ascent  of  this  "mul"  is  made  with  difficulty,  since  the  staircase  by  which  the  ascent 
is  made  is  now  almost  destroyed.  The  building  which  is  raised  on  this  "mul "  is  of 
extraordinary  sumptuousness  and  grandeur,  and  like  the  others  very  fine  and  beau- 
tiful. It  has  on  its  front,  which  faces  the  east,  many  figures  and  bodies  of  men  and  of 
shields,  and  of  forms  like  the  eagle  which  are  found  on  the  arms  of  the  Mexicans,  as 
well  as  of  certain  characters  and  letters  which  the  Maya  Indians  used  in  old  time — 
all  carved  with  so  <jreat  dexterity  as  surely  to  excite  admiration.  The  other  facade, 
which  faces  the  west,  showed  the  same  carving,  although  more  than  half  the  carved 
part  had  fallen.  The  ends  stood  linn  and  whole  with  their  four  corners  much  carved 
in  the  round,  like  those  of  the  other  building  below  .   .  .     Tho  Indians  do  not  know 


1  Brinton,  The  Maya  Chronicles,  p.  87. 


142  BUREAU    OF   AMERICAN   ETHNOLOGY  [bull.  64,  gann] 

surely  who  built  these  buildings  or  when  they  were  built,  though  some  of  them  did 
their  best  in  trying  to  explain  the  matter,  but  in  doing  so  showed  foolish  fancies  and 
dreams,  and  nothing  fitted  into  the  facts  or  was  satisfactory.  The  truth  is  that  to-day 
the  place  is  called  Uxmal.  and  an  intelligent  old  Indian  declared  to  the  father  delegate 
that  according  to  what  the  ancients  had  said  it  was  known  that  it  was  more  than  nine 
hundred  years  since  the  buildings  were  built.1 

From  this  account  there  appears  to  be  little  doubt  that  at  the  time 
of  the  conquest  the  great  buildings  of  Uxmal  were  deserted  and  al- 
ready falling  into  ruins.  In  the  minds  of  the  Indians  they  were 
evidently  associated  with  the  practice  of  their  ancient  religious  rites 
at  a  much  later  date,  for  one  of  the  reasons  given  by  the  regidor  when 
he  applied  for  a  grant  of  the  land  upon  which  the  ruins  stand  was 
that— 

It  would  prevent  the  Indians  in  those  places  from  worshipping  the  devil  in  the 
ancient  buildings  which  are  there,  having  in  them  idols  to  which  they  burn  copal, 
and  performing  other  detestable  sacrifices  as  they  are  doing  every  day  notoriously  and 
publicly.2 

The  ruins  of  Uxmal  were  probably  venerated  by  the  Indians  up  to 
a  very  recent  period,  as  in  one  of  the  chants  used  by  the  modern 
Maya  of  southern  Yucatan  in  their  ''Cha  chac"  or  rain  ceremony  the 
"Noh  Nah  ti  Uxmal,"  "Great  house  of  Uxmal/'  is  introduced,  which 
possibly  refers  to  the  Casa  del  Gobernador,  as  this  is  the  largest  build- 
ing among  the  ruins. 

iRelacidn  Breve,  quoted  by  Spinden,  A  Study  of  Maya  Art,  pp.  7-8. 
s  Stephens,  Incidents  of  Travel  in  Yucatan,  vol.  i,  p.  323. 


4r**di&    *»         <*     i       Jt 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  23 

The  ovoid  vase  shown  in  plate  23  is  11  inches  high  by  6£  inches  in  diameter  at 
its  widest  part.  It  is  of  very  fine  pottery,  with  decorations  in  red,  black,  and  reddish 
yellow  on  a  background  of  light  yellow.  The  outer  surface  is  divided  by  double 
black  lines  into  three  zones.  The  uppermost  and  narrowest  zone  contains,  between  a 
broad  red  band  above  and  two  narrow  black  bands  below,  a  row  of  10  glyphs  surrounding 
the  edge  of  the  vase.  The  middle  zone,  the  broadest,  contains  upon  one  side  (un- 
fortunately the  decoration  upon  the  other  side  has  been  almost  obliterated  by  time 
or  wear)  a  human  figure,  in  a  crouching  position,  the  right  hand  extended,  the  left 
resting  upon  the  ground.  The  face  is  in  profile,  and  around  the  left  eye  is  seen  the 
ornament  usually  associated  with  the  representation  of  a  god.  This  may  be  intended 
to  represent  Schellhas's  God  D  of  the  Codices,  known  as  the  Roman-nosed  God, 
probably  Itzamna,  as  this  peculiar  eye  ornament  is  often  associated  with  him.  The 
headdress  is  exceedingly  elaborate,  projecting  far  in  front  of  and  behind  the  head, 
and  is  decorated  with  plumes  of  feathers.  The  whole  figure  strongly  suggests  the 
bas-relief  on  the  side  of  the  door  of  the  altar  at  Palenque,  which  is  undoubtedly  a 
representation  of  the  god  Itzamna.  The  curious  eye  ornaments,  the  construction  of 
the  elaborate  headdress,  the  contour,  of  the  face,  and  the  platted  objects  hanging 
down  in  front  of  and  behind  the  chest,  from  the  neck,  are  similar  in  both.  The 
lowest  zone  is  decorated  with  vases  having  handles  at  the  sides,  narrow  necks,  and 
flaring  rims  from  which  project  flame-like  tongues;  on  the  outer  surface  of  each  is 
depicted  an  "Ahau"  sign.  The  vases  alternate  with  curious  objects  which  might 
represent  bales  of  merchandise;  the  whole,  indeed,  closely  resembles  the  tribute 
count  of  some  Aztec  city. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  .24 

The  cylindrical  vase  shown  in  plate  24  is  6  inches  in  diameter  by  11  inches  high. 
It  is  divided  into  three  zones,  the  uppermost  of  which  contains  a  single  row  of  hiero- 
glyphics, in  fair  preservation,  between  a  broad  red  band  above  and  two  narrow  black 
bands  below.  The  middle  zone,  by  far  the  broadest,  contains  two  very  spirited  repre- 
sentations of  the  Long-nosed  God,  one  on  each  side  of  the  vase,  done  in  red,  black, 
white,  and  dark  yellow.  The  Long-nosed  God,  called  by  Schellhas  in  his  "Repre- 
sentation of  Deities  of  the  Maya  Manuscripts"  God  B,  is  usually  identified  with 
Cuculcan,  the  feathered  serpent;  the  Aztec  Quetzalcoatl.  This  god  is  usually  repre- 
sented with  a  long  pendulous  nose  and  one  or  two  projecting  tusks,  and  is  almost  in 
variably  associated  with  the  serpent.  The  head  of  the  god  is  often  held  between  the 
serpent's  open  jaws,  or  has  added  to  it  a  serpentine  body;  again  the  god  may  be  en- 
circled by  intertwining  serpents,  or  may  hold  the  reptile's  body  in  his  hand,  like  a 
wand.  Though  the  serpentine  attributes  of  the  god  are  in  this  instance  conspicuous 
by  their  absence,  and  the  tapir  attributes  are  emphasized,  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that  the  painting  is  meant  to  represent  God  B,'  as  the  long  pendulous  nose  and  pro- 
jecting tusks  are  highly  characteristic  of  that  god.  The  lowest  and  narrowest  zone  of 
this  vase  is  covered  with  alternating  red  and  black  lines. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE   25 

The  cylindrical  vase  shown  in  plate  25  is  7  \  inches  in  height  by  4  J  inches  in  diame- 
ter. The  whole  of  the  decoration  upon  it  is  in  light  and  dark  red  on  a  light  yellow 
background,  and,  like  the  two  previously  described  vases,  it  is  divided  into  three 
decorative  zones.  The  uppermost  zone  contains  a  single  row  of  glyphs,  almost  in- 
decipherable, apparently  from  constant  use  of  the  vase  before  it  was  buried.  The 
middle  zone  contains  two  very  remarkable  mythological  creatures,  one  on  each  side, 
whose  feather-covered  bodies,  long  legs,  and  large  feet  are  suggestive  of  the  ostrich. 
The  necks  are  long  and  covered  with  flame-like  projections,  and  both  they  and  the 
heads,  with  their  huge  elongated  jaws,  are  evidently  intended  for  those  of  feathered 
serpents.  The  lowest  zone  of  the  vase  is  narrow,  and  contains  only  a  narrow  and  a 
broad  red  stripe. 

7080G0— 18— Bull.  G4 10 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATES  26,   27,  AND   28 

The  pottery  cylinder  shown  in  plates  26,  27,  and  28  is  10£  inches  high  by  4  inches 
in  diameter  and  is  without  a  bottom.  It  is  most  exquisitely  decorated  in  light  and 
dark  red  and  dark  yellow  on  a  light  yellow  background,  and  is  also  divided  into  three 
decorative  zones.  The  uppermost  zone  contains  only  a  single  row  of  hieroglyphs, 
very  much  defaced,  among  which  may  still  be  recognized  several  of  the  Maya  day 
signs.  The  middle  zone,  by  far  the  broadest,  is  covered  by  a  most  intricate  design, 
containing  human  and  mythological  figures  and  hieroglyphs,  with  ornamental  plumes, 
plate,  and  pendants;  the  whole,  owing  to  the  partial  obliteration  of  the  design,  being 
extremely  difficult  to  make  out.  On  one  side  is  seen  a  highly  conventional  representa- 
tion of  what  is  undoubtedly  intended  for  the  feathered  serpent,  with  tail  bent  around 
to  join  the  upper  part  of  the  head.  The  feathered  serpent  appears  to  permeate  all 
Maya  art  in  this  section  of  the  Maya  area;  whether  painted  on  pottery  or  stucco,  or 
incised  on  bone,  pottery,  or  other  material,  one  encounters  him  at  every  step.  The 
serpent  rests  upon  a  row  of  glyphs,  very  much  defaced,  and  below  this  is  a  mass  of 
bows,  knots,-  plumes,  and  glyphs.  Farther  along  is  a  fierce-faced  human  figure, 
probably  a  warrior,  with  lofty  and  elaborate  headdress,  ornamented  with  many  long 
feather  plumes.  Between  the  warrior  and  the  serpent  is  a  row  of  eight  cartouches, 
superimposed  one  upon  the  other,  each  containing  glyphs,  a  good  deal  defaced,  among 
which  the  "Ahau"  sign  may  still  be  clearly  made  out.  The  opening  glyph  in  this 
panel  may  refer  to  the  katun  8  Ahau.  This  katun  can  end  in  8  Ahau  only  once  in 
260  years,  or  twice  in  the  ninth  cycle,  namely,  on  9.0.0.0.0.8  Ahau,  3  Ceh,  and  on 
9.13.0.0.0.8  Ahau,  8  Uo;  and  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  if  this  is  a  calendar  record 
it  refers  to  some  date  in  the  ninth  cycle.  Naranjo,  the  nearest  ancient  Maya  city  to 
Yalloch,  was  occupied  for  a  period  of  approximately  12  katuns,  or  240  years,1  between 
9.7.10.0.0  and  9.19.10.0.0;  if  this  glyph,  therefore,  refers  to  a  katun  ending  in  8  Ahau 
in  the  ninth  cycle,  the  date  9.13.0.0.0  is  certainly  indicated. 

i  Morley,  An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  the  Maya  Hieroglyphs,  p.  15. 


BUREAU   OF  AMERICAN    ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN  64    PLATE  26 


POUfRf  CYLINDER   FROM   YALLOCH,  GUATEMALA 
(OTHER    VIEWS   IN    PLATES   27   AND   28) 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN  64     PLATE  27 


POTTERY  CYUNDFR   FROM  YALLOCH,  GUATEMALA 
(OTHER   VIEWS   IN    PLATES   26    AND   28) 


BUREAU  OF  AMERICAN  ETHNOLOGY 


BULLETIN  64    PLATE  28 


POTTERY  CYLINDER   FROM  YALLOCH,  GUATEMALA 
(OTHER   VIEWS   IN    PLATES    26    AND   27) 


AUTHORITIES  CITED 

Brinton,  Daniel  G.     The  Maya  chronicles.     Brinton 's  Library  Aboriginal  Amerif  an 

Literature,  vol.  i.     Phila.     1882. 
Charnay,  Desire.    Voyage  au  Yucatan  et  au  pays  des  Lacandons.    La  Tour  du 

Monde,  vol.  xlvii,  pp.  1-96;  vol.  xlviii,  pp.  33-48.     Paris,  1884. 
Cogolludo,  Juan  Lopez  de.    Historia  de  Yucathan.    Madrid,  1688. 
Gann,  Thomas.     On  exploration  of  two  mounds  in  British  Honduras.     Proc.  Soc. 

Ant.  London,  2d  ser.,  vol.  xv,  pp.  430-434.     London,  1894-95. 
On  the  contents  of  some  ancient  mounds  in  Central  America.     Ibid.,  2d  ser., 

vol.  xvi,  pp.  308-317.     London,  1896-97. 

Mounds  in  northern  Honduras.     Nineteenth  Rept.  Bur.  Amer.  Elhn.,  pt.  2, 


pp.  (555-692.     Washington,  1900. 
Joyce.  Thomas  A.     Mexican  archaeology.     New  York,  1914. 
Landa,  Diego  de.     Relation  des  choses  de  Yucatan.    Texte  Espagnol  et  traduction 

Francaise.     Published  by  Brasseur^ie  Bourbourg.     Paris,  1864. 
Maler,  Teobert.     Researches  in  the  central  portion,  of  the  Lsumatsintla  Valley. 

Pt.  2.     Mem.  Peabody  Mus.,  vol.  n,  no.  2.     Cambridge,  1903. 

Explorations  in  the  Department  of  Peten,  Guatemala.     Mem.  Peabody  Mux., 

vol.  iv,  no.  2.     Cambridge,  1908. 

Maudslay,  A.  P.     Explorations  in  Guatemala.     Proc.  Royal  Geog.  Soc.,  vol.  v,  no. 

I.  pp.  185-204.     London,  1883. 
Morlev,  Sylvanus  Griswold.     An  introduction  to  the  study  of  the  Maya  hiero- 
glyphs.    Bull.   57,   Bur.  Amer.  Ethn.     Washington,   1915. 
Relacion  de  la  villa  de  Valladolid.     Actas  Cong.  Int.  Amer.,  Madrid,  1881.     vol.  n. 

Madrid,  1884. 
Relacion  de  los  pueblos  de  Popola  y  Sinsimato  y  Samiol.     Coleccion  de  documentos 

ineditos,  relativos  al  descubrimiento ,  conquista  y  colonizadon  de  las  posesiones  Espanolas 

en  America  y  Oceania.     2d  ser.,  vol.  xm.     Madrid,  1900. 
Spinden,  H.  J.     A  study  of  Maya  art.     Mem.  Peabody  Mus.,  vol.  vi.     Cambridge, 

1913. 
Stephens,  John  L.     Incidents  of  travel  in  Yucatan.     Vols.  i-ii.     New  York,  1843. 
Thomas,  Cyrus.     Day  symbols  of  the  Maya  year.     Sixteenth  Rt p.  Bur.  Amer.  Ethn., 

pp.  205-264.     Washington,  1897. 
Tozzer,  Alfred  M.     A  preliminary  study  of  the  prehistoric  ruins  of  Xakuni.  Guate- 

mala.     Mem.  Peabody  Mus.,  vol.  v,  no.  3.     Cambridge,  1913. 

Comparative  study  of  the  Mayas  and  LacandoD.es.     Pub.  Anhseol.  Inst.  Amer. 

New  York,  1!)()7. 

Villagutierre,  Juan  de.     Hietoria  de  la  conquista  de  la  provincia  de  el  Itza  .  .  . 
a  las  provincias  de  Yucatan.     [Madrid],  1701. 

143 


INDEX 


Pago 
Agriculture,  most  important  occupation  of 

Indians 20 

Alcohol,  effect  on  Indian  temperament 34 

Amulets,  worn  by  women 19 

Animals— 

Domestic,  kept  by  ancient  inhabitants ...  55 

kept  for  pets 25 

Arts  of  the  ancients,  fine  examples  dis- 
covered  .• 53 

Baskets,  making  of 30 

Bleeding,  favorite  remedy *   37 

Bones,  measurements  of 51 

Bristol  Museum,  objects  from  collection  of.  13 
British  Honduras,  Northern,  geographical 

description  of. 14 

British  Museum,  objects  from  collection  of. .  13 

Candles,  method  of  making 31 

CANOE3— 

making  of 28 

used  for  trading  along  rivers 29 

Ceremonies,  the  four  principal 42 

Ceremony,  Cha  chac,  at  ripening  of  corn, 

description 42 

Charms  worn  by  women 19 

Chief— 

power  practically  absolute 35 

rarely  dies  natural  death 35 

strongest  subchief  usually  succeeds 35 

Childbirth,  methods  of  facilitating 38 

Children,  love  for  and  disposition  of 33 

Chronology,  three  periods  of  Mayan  civili- 
zation    58 

Cigarettes— 

making  of 30 

smoked  by  women .  17 

Cooking,  native  methods  of 22 

Cooking  utensils,  description  of 27 

Corn  - 

harvesting  and  storing  ol 20 

preparation  of  ground  and  planting  of 20 

surplus  sold  or  exchanged 20 

Corn  husks,  wrappers  for  cigarettes 30 

Corn  plantation.    See  Milpa. 

"CUHUN  RIDGES"—  . 

description  of 14 

sites  of  ancient  mounds It 

sites  of  modern  villages 14 

Death  sentence,  how  executed 35 

Diet— 

description  of 21 

maize  staple  article  of,  among  ancient 

inhabitants 55 

Diseases— 

bleeding  for 37 

eye  trouble,  remedy  for :is 

intestinal  parasites 37 

malaria 30 

smallpox 37 

venereal 37 

whooping  cough,  remedy  for ,'is 

Press 

ancient  inhabitants 52 

ancient  priests .'>.! 

ancient  warriors 52 


Page 

Dress— Continued. 

now  principally  English  and  American 

goods 19 

Drunkenness— 

curse  of  the  Indians 34 

not  considered  a  disgrace 34 

Fire,  methods  of  making 22 

Fish— 

methods  of  catching 25 

varieties  of 25 

Fishing — 

harpooning  at  night 25 

methods  of 25 

torch  used  in 25 

Food— 

animals  used  as,  by  ancient  inhabitants.  55 
kind  and  method  of  eating  modified  by 
contact  with  more  civilized  communi- 
ties   22 

method  "of  serving  and  eating 22 

preparation  and  serving  of 21 

snakes  used  as 24 

turtles'  eggs  used  as 24 

Fowls,  use  of,  in  Cha  chac  ceremony 45 

Furniture— 

description  of 27 

hammocks  conspicuous  articles  of 27 

Game— 

pursuit  of 23 

traps  used  in  capturing 24 

Game  birds  and  animals— 

list  of 24 

preparation  and  curing  of,  for  future  use.  21 

Games— 

of  the  ancient  inhabitants 56 

played  by  adults  and  children 39 

Hammocks— 

conspicuous  articles  of  furniture 27 

hiding  places  for  "cooties" 27 

Headdresses— 

ancient  warriors  and  priests 52 

animals  carved  in  wood 52 

Henequen  fiber— 

method  of  cleaning 30 

uses  of 31 

Homes,  not  particular  as  to  cleanliness  of 16 

Hookworms,  prevalent,  due  to  oarth-cating 

habits  of  children 37 

Houses — 

ancient,  description  of 53 

built  with  assistance  of  neighbors 26 

method  of  construction 26 

Hunting,  torch  used  in 24 

ICAICHB,  estimate  of  population 13 

Immorality,  brought  about  by  cheapness  of 

rum 33 

INDIANS,  causes  of  early  deaths 34 

ITZAS,  occupying  western  British  Honduras.  13 

Liverpool  Musewm,  objects  from  collection 

of 13 

Macapal— 

carried  by  children,  causing  bowlegs.. .  10 

description  of  its  use IS 

habits  acquired  by  constant  carrying  of. .  16 

145 


146 


INDEX 


Mac  apal— Continued .  •  Page 

weighted  with  stones  as  counterpoise  in 

traveling 16 

Machete,  used  as  tool  and  weapon. 28 

Malaria— 

chief  scourge  of  Indians 36 

treated  by  sweating 36 

Marriage — 

age  of 32 

all  degrees  of  racial  mixture 34 

ceremony  often  delayed 33 

Maya  women  to  Negro  men  common 33 

not  legal  among  Santa  Cruz  unless  per- 
formed by  certain  official 33 

obligation  somewhat  loose 33 

usually  by  Catholic  priest 33 

Massage,  practiced  by  mid  wives 38 

Maya,  progenitors  of  present  inhabitants 15 

Medicine,  list  of  plants  used  as 38 

Men— 

cruelty  of,  often  in  nature  of  reprisal 18 

dress  of 18 

example  of  cruelty  of  master  to  servant. .  18 

have  no  desire  to  accumulate  wealth 18 

mental  characteristics  of* 17 

occupation  of 17 

skillful  in  finding  routes  and  in  following 

tracks 18 

stoical  in  bearing  pain 18 

Metate— 

superseded  by  hand  mills 17 

use  of 21 

Milpa— 

many  fruits  and  vegetables  grown  in 20 

preparation  of 20 

Moccasins,  making  of 19 

Mosquitoes,  carriers  of  malaria .'.  36 

Mounds — 

abundant  on  fertile  soil 50 

classification  of 49 

contents  indicate   physical   appearance 

of  ancient  inhabitants 51 

manner  of  construction 65 

Museum   of  the  American  Indian,   ob- 
jects from  collection  of 13 

Odor,  peculiar 16 

Oils,  for  cooking  and  lighting 31 

Ornaments,  worn  by  ancient  inhabitants. . .  52 

"  Pine  ridges,  "  description  of 14 

Plants,  list  of,  used  as  medicine 38 

Pottery — 

ancient,  description  of 54 

ancient,  ornamentation  of 54 

slight  attempt  at  decoration 28 

Pottery  making — 

exclusively  by  older  women /  28 

no  polish,  glaze,  or  paint  applied 28 

rendered  unnecessary  by  iron  pots  and 

earthenware 17 

Property,  disposition  of,  at  death 33 

Punishment 

fine,  flogging,  and  death  only  methods  of.  35 

for  witchcraft  or  sorcery 36 

imprisonment  as,  unknown 35 


Religion— 

ancient  inhabitants 56 

Catholic  priests  not  permitted  for  many 

years 41 

Christianity  a  thin  veneer 42 

four  principal  ceremonies 42 

human  sacrifice  by  the  ancient  inhabi- 
tants   57 

Indian  conception  of 40 

native  priests  appointed 41 

Religious  altars,  draped  and  decorated. . .  28 

Rum— 

made  locally 34 

women  usually  drink  privately 34 

Sandals,  worn  by  ancient  inhabitants 52 

Santa  Cruz  tribe — 

emigration  of 13 

estimate  of  population 13 

measurements  of 15 

physical  description  of 15 

policy  of  extermination  of,  by  Mexican 

Government 13 

Smallpox— 

terrible  scourge 37 

treatment  for,  often  disastrous 37 

Snakes  used  as  food ' 24 

Spinning— 

method  of 29 

no  longer  practiced 17 

universal  among  ancient  women 55 

Spirits,  belief  in 40 

Superstition,  " Santa  Cruz"  oracle 41 

Surgery,  practice  of 37 

Teeth,  filed  and  filled  with  plugs 51 

Tobacco — 

curing  of 30 

vanilla  leaves  mixed  with,  to  give  flavor 

and  fragrance 30 

Torch  used  in  fishing 25 

Tortillas,  preparation  and  cooking  of 21 

Traps  used  in  capturing  game 24 

Turkey,  use  of,  in  Cha  chac  ceremony 45 

Villages— 

description  of 32 

foreigners  not  permitted  to  reside  in 32 

frequent  changes  of  sites 27 

locations  of,  carefully  concealed 32 

Weapons— 

defensive/of  ancient  inhabitants 53 

offensive,  of  ancient  inhabitants 52 

Weaving— 

method  of 29 

no  longer  practiced ■ 17 

Women— 

dress  of •  19 

in  gala  costume  present  attractive  ap- 
pearance    16 

industrious  workers 17 

j  ewelry  and  ornaments  worn  by 19 

obscene  and  disgusting  language  used  by .  16 

occupation  of 17 

personal  cleanliness  of 16 

physically  and  mentally  superior  to  men.  16 

social  characteristics  of 16 

Yucatan,  geographical  description  of 14 

Yucatecan  tribes,  immigration  into  north- 
ern British  Honduras 13 


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